Former patient and Ilkley Rotary Club team up to help Airedale Hospital stroke unit

Fiona Mann, of Addingham, and John Metcalf, president of the Rotary Club of Ilkley, handed over a cheque for £500 to Tracey Mothersdale, ward sister on the stroke unit, for the purchase of two new shower chairs for patients.

Mrs Mann, who has previously been a patient on the stroke ward at Airedale, suffered a spinal stroke last summer. During her stay at the hospital she found the shower chairs were not comfortable and difficult to move.

A past president of the Rotaract Club of Ilkley (junior Rotary), Mrs Mann was given some money raised through the annual Christmas Holly Ball, organised by the Rotary Club of Ilkley, to donate to her chosen charity.

Mr Metcalf, said: “Fiona was involved in organising the Christmas event for many years before giving it up two years ago, which is when we took over.

“When we heard about Fiona’s situation we decided to give her some money, raised through the Holly Ball, to donate to a charity of her choice.

“When she told us she wanted it to be Airedale we were more than happy to get behind her and support her cause.”

Senior sister on Ward 5, Tracey Mothersdale, said the hospital was grateful for the generous donation.

She said: “The shower chairs we have bought with the money are a huge improvement.

“They are easy to keep clean as they just wipe down, are great to move around and most importantly the feedback we have had from the patients has been fantastic.”

This is not the first time Mrs Mann has supported the hospital. Earlier this year she took on a personal challenge to raise money for the ward, which treated her following her stroke.

She was paralysed from the waist down and lost all feeling in her legs but is now making slow but steady progress.

She has so far raised £2,500 in total, including offline donations, towards the purchase of further equipment for the stroke unit, with money continuing to come in.

Visit justgiving.com/Fiona-Mann to contribute.