Helping the Adult ICU at Glenfield Hospital
Donation protected
ECMO1000
I’m raising money for the team of medical professionals at Glenfield Hospital who saved my life in 2018. I hope to raise enough money to buy some more life saving equipment for the intensive care unit.
Here’s my story:
I became ill in December 2018. It felt like a common cold at first, but quickly escalated to a serious case of Influenza (Flu) A, H1N1 (Swine Flu).
My illness quickly turned into double pneumonia (both lungs), which then became acute respiratory distress syndrome. In short, my lungs were so damaged that they couldn’t provide enough oxygen to sustain my life.
I was rushed to the intensive care unit of a local hospital and placed on a ventilator, but it was determined that I wasn’t going to survive. The only option to try and save my life was to refer me for a treatment called ECMO. I would eventually be accepted for ECMO treatment and transferred to Glenfield Hospital over 100 miles from my home.
ECMO is considered the last option for a severely ill person who is otherwise going to die. The ill patient is connected to a machine that extracts blood to oxygenate it. The blood is then returned to the body to be circulated by the heart. In short, the ECMO machine does the job of the patients non functioning lungs.
Few patients are accepted for ECMO treatment. This is partly because the UK has a small number of dedicated units/machines, but also because doctors are able to determine which patients will benefit from it and sadly which will not (and will sadly die anyway).
I’m so thankful to say that I was accepted for ECMO treatment and have now made a full recovery.
I’m here. I’m alive, and I want to do something to raise money for the amazing people who saved my life.
It is VERY rare for ECMO patients to have completely unaffected lives after their treatment. Many patients/survivors have to contend with physical impairments, but, thankfully, I appear to be one of the lucky people who has full mobility.
I like walking and jogging. I consider these activities to be a form of mental therapy. I typically walk with my baby or jog regular circuits around my house.
I intend to log 1600 kilometres (pretty much 1000 miles) of walking or running. I will provide screenshots taken from my Fitbit to prove the distances I have travelled until I reach the 1600km goal.
I don’t know how long this will take me, but I will do it.
Note also that I wrote a book about my illness and ECMO treatment. Search Amazon for “to the dark and back” (all proceeds are sent to the charity called Heartlink Glenfield).
I’m raising money for the team of medical professionals at Glenfield Hospital who saved my life in 2018. I hope to raise enough money to buy some more life saving equipment for the intensive care unit.
Here’s my story:
I became ill in December 2018. It felt like a common cold at first, but quickly escalated to a serious case of Influenza (Flu) A, H1N1 (Swine Flu).
My illness quickly turned into double pneumonia (both lungs), which then became acute respiratory distress syndrome. In short, my lungs were so damaged that they couldn’t provide enough oxygen to sustain my life.
I was rushed to the intensive care unit of a local hospital and placed on a ventilator, but it was determined that I wasn’t going to survive. The only option to try and save my life was to refer me for a treatment called ECMO. I would eventually be accepted for ECMO treatment and transferred to Glenfield Hospital over 100 miles from my home.
ECMO is considered the last option for a severely ill person who is otherwise going to die. The ill patient is connected to a machine that extracts blood to oxygenate it. The blood is then returned to the body to be circulated by the heart. In short, the ECMO machine does the job of the patients non functioning lungs.
Few patients are accepted for ECMO treatment. This is partly because the UK has a small number of dedicated units/machines, but also because doctors are able to determine which patients will benefit from it and sadly which will not (and will sadly die anyway).
I’m so thankful to say that I was accepted for ECMO treatment and have now made a full recovery.
I’m here. I’m alive, and I want to do something to raise money for the amazing people who saved my life.
It is VERY rare for ECMO patients to have completely unaffected lives after their treatment. Many patients/survivors have to contend with physical impairments, but, thankfully, I appear to be one of the lucky people who has full mobility.
I like walking and jogging. I consider these activities to be a form of mental therapy. I typically walk with my baby or jog regular circuits around my house.
I intend to log 1600 kilometres (pretty much 1000 miles) of walking or running. I will provide screenshots taken from my Fitbit to prove the distances I have travelled until I reach the 1600km goal.
I don’t know how long this will take me, but I will do it.
Note also that I wrote a book about my illness and ECMO treatment. Search Amazon for “to the dark and back” (all proceeds are sent to the charity called Heartlink Glenfield).
Organizer
Aaron Wilkinson
Organizer
England
