Family raise over £20,000 for Critical Care Unit in memory of son who died from rare condition
The family of a young man from Nottinghamshire who died after suffering a bleed on the brain have raised over £20,000 for the Critical Care Unit that cared for him.
Luke Blackbourn died in February 2016 at the age of 23 after he was found unconscious at home. He suffered a brain bleed from an Arteriovenous Malformation (AVM). Luke was taken to QMC Critical Care for treatment but sadly died a few hours later.
Luke's mum Paula Wright, 49 from Giltbrook, said: "Everybody loved him and he was my only child, so to go through what we did in the space of 12 hours was extremely devastating and I feel like I've lost my right arm. However it is quite comforting to know the money we have raised will give something back to those that cared for Luke. As part of his lasting legacy the money will help other patients in Critical Care in the future."
AVM are clumps of abnormal blood vessels, that can bleed and cause pressure on the brain, which can affect a person's speech and movement and even cause death. Cerebral AVM is a very rare brain condition that usually affects less than 0.1% of the population. It is the cause of stroke in 3% of people aged under 45 years old. NUH treats around 12 acute cases of AVM each year.
Paula and her husband Ian attended the QMC Critical Care Unit to thank the team and to pay tribute to Luke on the second anniversary of his funeral.
Dr Thearina de Beer, Critical Care Consultant said: "It is truly remarkable what the family have done, to raise so much money in his memory and to donate this to the Critical Care Unit even though Luke stayed with us for a short time. It is a very kind and selfless gesture, we really appreciate .It will change the lives of so many of our patients"
Luke Blackbourn's family and friends have raised a total of £20,616.00, so far for the QMC Critical Care Fund having carried out a series of fundraising events including; a bike ride from London to Paris, an Impact Fitness training charity event and charity fundraise hosted at a pub in Ilkeston.
Part of the money has been used to fund Critical Care work including the provision of a specialist nasendoscope scope which will be used by the Nottinghamshire Healthcare Speech and Language Therapy team working at Nottingham Hospitals.
Jane Hansell from the Speech and Language Therapy team said: "We are delighted to have a flexible nasendoscope for use on Critical Care to help assess patients swallowing; these are usually used on patients who are recovering from neurological conditions. The tool will be particularly beneficial for some patients on ventilators who are awake, off sedation, and keen to start eating and drinking."
If you wish to donate to Luke's Just Giving Page, you can do this here.