Kayleigh's fundraising thanks staff for their care

A daughter raised almost £1,200 to thank hospital staff who saved her dad’s life.

Kayleigh Arthurs, 31, completed the London Landmarks Half Marathon for East Kent Hospitals Charity as a way of thanking the teams at the Kent and Canterbury Hospital who cared for her dad, Nigel Avery.

The 57 year old spent more than 100 days in K&C in 2022 after collapsing at home. He was diagnosed with Guillain-Barre syndrome, which left him completely paralysed and relying on a ventilator to breathe.

Kayleigh, who works as head of HR for an international charity, said: “Within days of his collapse my dad was fighting for his life.

“This was the darkest time for us as a family, not knowing if he would survive, and the help and support we all received from Kent and Canterbury Hospital was second to none.

“I ran the half marathon in recognition of the amazing work they do and as my own personal thank you to them for giving me my dad back.”

She completed the run in two hours, 38 minutes and 27 seconds, and collected donations totalling £1,175. Nigel, who lives in Ash and works at a primary school in Broadstairs, has since made a full recovery.

East Kent Hospitals staff also took part in the run, with orthopaedic consultant Mark Jones the charity’s fastest runner, crossing the finish line in one hour, 34 minutes and 19 seconds. He raised £495.

Mark said: “My wife did the London Landmarks Half last year and it looked good fun, so I signed up. I’m very happy with the time - smashed my PB by almost 10 minutes!”

Lauren Dennis, a therapy assistant practitioner at the William Harvey Hospital, raised £615.

She said: “I managed to somehow complete the course in two hours, nine minutes and 45 seconds, which was a massive surprise considering I was only aiming for two and a half hours on a good day! I managed to run the whole course, which, again, was a bit of a surprise as I was expecting to do a mixture of running and walking.

“The atmosphere up there was electric and the crowd carry you round that race for sure! Luckily, the weather was good as well which definitely made the day better!

“I honestly had such a good time doing all the training and had a great time on race day. I have already done the pre-registration for a ballot place for next year.”

If you would like to sign up for an event to raise money for East Kent Hospitals, visit the events section of the East Kent Hospitals Charity website: https://www.ekhcharity.org.uk/events/