Family says a £12,000 thank you to children's ward at orthopaedic hospital
A grateful family have presented a cheque for £12,000 to the dedicated children’s ward at The Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital following a six-month fundraising campaign.
Janine Bloor, mother of 14-year-old Eleanor, decided to fundraise for Alice Ward as a thank you for the care the team on the ward provided to her daughter following a T12 spinal cord injury – meaning her vertebra was crushed due to extreme compression – back in 2018.
The fundraising took place back in 2019 – and Eleanor, Janine, with younger sister Charlotte ,visited the Oswestry-based hospital for a follow-up appointment, where they presented the cheque to the RJAH Charity and staff on Alice Ward.
Janine said: “The care that Eleanor received throughout her stay on Alice Ward was phenomenal. When she first came to the hospital, she could only wiggle her toes but 12 months on from her injury she learnt to walk again.
“Throughout Eleanor’s stay, her constant and biggest motivation was to be able to ride her horse, Clover, again.
“We are all thrilled that we raised £12,000 for Alice Ward – we can’t believe the positivity, overwhelming kindness and support we’ve received from our friends, family and work colleagues. I must say a special thank you to JCB and Laboratorios Phergal for their donations.”
The Bloor family’s fundraising launched with an open day at their company J.A. Bloor Agricultural Services, which raised over £1,600, and concluded with a sponsored family walk in 2019 where over 300 people took part.
Suzanne Marsden, Alice Ward and children’s outpatients manager, said: “I’m overwhelmed and extremely appreciative to the Bloor family for the unbelievable amount of money they’ve donated to us.
“We’ve already purchased some items for the ward including board games, virtual reality headsets for the children before theatre and during X-rays, and specialist wheelchairs and cushions for children with spinal injuries.”
Victoria Sugden, RJAH charity representative, said: “I’d like to say thank you to Janine, the whole Bloor family and everyone who supported their fundraising efforts – the money raised will make a real difference to the experience children and young adults have on Alice Ward.
“We have also reserved some of the funds to kickstart another project on Alice Ward, which is very exciting, and we will be able to share more about this shortly.”
