Great-grandmother finds own way to say thank you to hospital

SHE HAS BEEN FUNDRAISING FOR THE HOSPITAL CHARITY DESPITE OWN HEALTH SCARE

- By SAM VOLPE

A GATESHEAD great-grandmother hasn't let being stuck in hospital herself stop her raising money to thank the hospital “at the heart” of her community.

Pat Stephenson, 76, was one of the first NHS babies born at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital back in 1948 - and she’s been a patient there throughout her life, most recently when, in 2020, she was given a double cancer diagnosis during the Covid-19 pandemic.

But despite her own health scare, she’s remained determined to support the staff there and to fundraise for the hospital's charity.

Pat, from Carr Hill, had organised a fundraising event at the beginning of April only for her health to take a turn for the worst - but she told The Chronicle how she had gone “full-’Wedding Planner” from her hospital bed to ensure things still went ahead as planned.

She said: “I was born in the year of the NHS's birth and one of the first babies at the maternity unit here. I am so convinced that the hospital is at the heart of our town and everyone should support it.