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Seven staff members from University Hospitals Dorset NHS Foundation Trust recently took the leap and to the skies to jump 10,000ft and 15,000ft to support The Royal Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Hospitals. 

Taking on the once in a lifetime experience at GoSkydive in Salisbury was Ali Whyte, Molly Lopez, Rachel Gregory, Kim Davis, Fiona Sowerby, Amira Al-Bittar and Charlotte Pontin-Thomas.

This super seven had individual motivations to take on this courageous challenge and decided to fundraise for a mixture of areas within University Hospitals Dorset.

First up was Ali Whyte who works within the eye department at The Royal Bournemouth Hospital and was keen to support the Eye Sim Appeal for a revolutionary simulator for eye surgery to help train the new generation of eye surgeons across Wessex and Dorset.

Molly Lopez is a nurse for Ward 15 at Bournemouth Hospital and took to the skies to raise funds for a new pull-out bed for relatives who are visiting loved ones who are receiving palliative care. These patients need their families, and their families need comfort during such a precious time which is something Moly is especially keen to support.

Molly says: “Our patients go through a lot during their last days of life, and we would like to provide families with a comfortable place to rest during this time with a loved one. This will make this challenging time just that little bit easier.”

Thirdly, Rachel Gregory who works as an Assistant Medical Equipment Co-ordinator braved the 15,000ft jump to support all three hospitals, NHS staff and their patients. Rachel says: “I always wanted to do a skydive so when I saw the charity skydive advertised, my thoughts were its now or never. I am so grateful for all the sponsorship people have given me. There is so many departments in need of different things. I am so pleased I can show my support.”

Joining Rachel was Kim Davis and Fiona Sowerby who work in Finance for the Trust who were keen to leap into action to support their hospitals while ticking off a personal passion on their bucket list.

Not stopping there, Amira Al-Bittar who works as a Medical Laboratory Assistant in the Microbiology department followed in her flight from a Cessna Super Cargomaster – the fastest tandem skydiving aircraft in the UK to raise funds to support her colleagues in the Pathology and Microbiology department.

Last by no means least is Charlotte Pontin-Thomas who is one of PAs to the fantastic cancer care team at Poole Hospital has fundraised her way through cycl-athons and cake sales to raise funds to support the Cancer Care Unit.

Go team!

The Radiotherapy Team from Poole Hospital are growing their finest moustaches this month to raise funds for University Hospitals Dorset NHS Charity.

Half-way through Movember, a group of Radiotherapy Radiographers, Physicists and Engineers from University Hospitals Dorset NHS Foundation Trust are resisting the urge to stay clean-shaven this month in their growing efforts to support their patients.

So far, the team have passed their fundraising target of £750 and have already reached the £870 mark.

Every penny raised will allow the team to purchase equipment in Radiotherapy; helping to improve their existing treatment in the Radiotherapy department and to continue providing the best care they can for their patients.

Community Fundraiser, Janine Golding said: “I absolutely love the engagement in this activity from right across the team, all going above and beyond to raise funds for their department. It really is fantastic fun to see and I can’t wait to see the final results on the 30 November.”

“It’s the community and team spirit of activities like this that really show the value our charity can have for our NHS staff and their patients. Together we can purchase new equipment that can really make a difference. Thank you to everybody involved.”

Senior Radiographer, Lewis Powell said: “We are keen to fundraise, but it isn’t always easy knowing what way to do it. But the answer was under our noses all along. We are extremely grateful for all the generous donations. It has been a great way to raise money for a good cause whilst having a bit of fun within the team.”

To support Lewis and the team, you can visit JustGiving.com to see their latest updates and photos.

David Harris takes on half-marathon cider race after recovery

40 year-old, David Harris from Hamworthy received a diagnosed of bowel cancer at the age of 38 in April 2021. His health took a sharp downturn when he started experiencing respiratory difficulties.

David who was typically an active individual, found himself struggling to climb stairs without feeling breathless. While he initially attributed his fatigue to the demands of parenting a young toddler with his wife, he decided to seek medical advice. Thankfully, after undergoing tests, David received prompt treatment following his cancer diagnosis.

Fast forward 2 years and David has just completed his first half-marathon, with a twist! On 19 August, David took on the Henley Ciderthon to raise funds for the Cancer Care Unit at Poole Hospital.

This popular fun run was David’s way to work his way back to fitness after recovering from Bowel cancer. This is a light-hearted fancy dress half marathon where you get a quarter of a cup of cider or soft drink every 2 miles along the course.

Dressed as the Walrus Crew, David was joined by his brother and a friend for the race and his whole family and circle of friends came along to cheer them on.

With the help of all his friends and family, David raised an amazing £2,055 for University Hospitals Dorset NHS Charity. Every penny has been chosen by David to go towards the Cancer Care Unit to thank the team for the care he received as part of his chemotherapy treatment and surgery. David has been working hard with a special recovery trainer to regain his strength and rebuild his fitness.

Determined to resume back to normality at home with his wife, Victoria and daughter Elizabeth, David is now back to his camping, kayaking and all things family fun. Not stopping there, David the opportunity to re-train in something new and studying counselling, especially as he found it helpful to process the last few years.

Fundraising Officer, Amy Beauchamp say’s: ‘David’s positivity is infectious. It is fantastic to see how him looking forward now and celebrating how far he’s come. This fundraising activity is certainly something different but that’s what fundraising is all about, having fun and I am pleased he’s enjoyed raising funds along the way!”

Sharing his advice to anybody who has a cancer diagnosis, David say’s “Be organised and write down what you are told at your appointments. Recognise the things you can’t do and accept it, you can’t waste energy worrying about what you can’t do as it slows down your recovery. You have to redefine your idea of a good day and stay positive where you can.”

David is now having yearly observations instead and while David’s running shoes may be hung up for winter, he’s promised to return to the Henley Ciderthon next year.

Dan says: “I will be braving the waves and battling the tides, currents, jellyfish and anything else in-between to celebrate 25 years of this much-needed service. In 2023, my wife and I were delighted to be expecting our first baby. We couldn’t wait share our news with the world and visualised all of the things we wanted to do as new parents.”

“When we went for a scan and found out that a heartbeat couldn’t be found, we were devastated. It was a ‘missed’ miscarriage, which felt especially cruel as there were no signs that anything was wrong with our baby. Our world collapsed around us and it felt like a huge wave had hit us, flipping everything upside-down.

“In our darkest time, SPRING was there to support us and our counselling has helped us to learn how to sit with our emotions, how to grieve and how to begin to rebuild. Talking openly and honestly in this safe environment provided by SPRING has allowed my wife and I to grow and heal together. I will never be able to thank the team enough for all that they have done, but I can swim the distance to make a difference and say thank you.”

Dan has so far raised over £2,235 and his fundraising efforts are ongoing, right up to the day he out’s on his wetsuit. If you would like to support dan’s ‘big swim’, go to www. Givewheel.com and search ‘Old Harry rocks to the needles’.

Half of the funds raised will also go to Myleoma UK in support of a family member’s cancer journey and recovery.

Fundraising Officer Zoe Woods says: “I’ve seen many supporters do incredible things to support the service that has helped them during their most difficult times but buoy is this one an epic challenge! On behalf of the charity and SPRING team, I want to wish Dan the best of luck for his challenge and to say thank you for braving the open water and swimming the distance for all the families who have been supported by SPRING or may need us in the future.”

He’s taken up walking and feels better than he has in a very long time. Unfortunately, though, when Mark was having his surgery, his mother-in-law was living with terminal pancreatic cancer and passed away in April 2023 – exactly one year on from his own mum’s passing in April 2022.

While Mark was having his chemotherapy and radiotherapy treatment, his brother-in-law also started receiving treatment for lung cancer.

It is fair to say, this family have been through an awful lot over the past few years. In fact, Mark’s 15-year-old son walked from Swanage to Bournemouth Pier and raised £1,280 last year to support his dad and the Cancer Care Unit team at Poole Hospital.

This year though, Mark is feeling well and took on his own walking challenge late September, walking 22 miles from Swanage to Poole Hospital and back. In true competitive family spirit, Mark was keen to walk even further and is extremely proud to have raised a whopping £4,133.

Mark said: “I feel stronger by the day. My mind remains positive and I know I am luckier than my relatives. I want to give back to the Cancer Care Team at Poole Hospital because they are simply fantastic.”

“My Consultant, Emma King is a remarkable lady. She really helped me through this most unsettling time. She knew I didn’t need trials and that the combination of radiotherapy, chemotherapy and surgery were my best way forward. I felt so reassured by the team every step of the way. Their positivity made me believe I would be ok and now it’s my turn to do what I can to help the on the ward.”