Remember our fabulous fundraisers from Holtspur?

Raising funds for their friend treated at Wexham Park Hospital with Coronavirus with a 3 day fundraising event.

Mehmet spent three weeks on a ventilator in intensive care and the community went on to raise nearly £8,000 to show their gratitude to staff at Slough’s Wexham Park Hospital.

The community at Holtspur, Beaconsfield, where Mehmet Adali, 55, lives with his wife and two children, embarked on a series of sponsored runs, walks and bike rides for 12 hours across three consecutive days – raising £7,733.

The money has purchased a specialised therapeutic bike, called a THERA-Trainer that can be taken to patients’ bedsides to help their recovery.

Specialised therapeutic bike, called a THERA-Trainer

Mr Adali was taken to Wexham Park Hospital by ambulance on Friday, March 27.

He said: “I had a severe headache for a few days and it started getting worse so I called 111. My wife, Christine, was concerned about my breathing rate and by the time the ambulance arrived I had started to lose consciousness.”

After being admitted, Mr Adali’s was transferred to an ITU ward where he was put on a ventilator for three weeks.

He said: “I was heavily sedated so I have no memory of that time but at one point they had to put me on dialysis.

“After they removed the ventilator, I was moved to an Intensive Care Recovery ward where I stayed for a further week. The hospital staff were incredible throughout, they brought me back and I cannot thank them enough.

“On the day I was discharged, climbing into the car next to my wife was very memorable. I was greeted by many of our neighbours throwing streamers, confetti and cheering. The look on their faces was a mixture of happiness and relief. It was quite overwhelming.”

Holtspur community event

One Holtspur resident, David Kightley, who organised the JustGiving campaign said:

“We have always been a very close-knit community and were really shocked when we heard that Mehmet was so ill.  It was quite easy to set up overall. Once I knew which site to use (JustGiving) it only took a few minutes to set up.  Once I got a few people interested and committed to the event, others quickly joined and we easily reached the target of having 36 families involved. And having so many people involved really made the fundraising easy, as did using Social Media to get the message out there quickly.  I would encourage anyone to take the plunge and get involved in this sort of fundraising. I really enjoyed it and found it immensely rewarding, as well as meeting loads of new people locally.”

“Christine had kept us updated throughout and told us what a great job the staff on the ward were doing. Fundraising was the best way to show our appreciation – it’s amazing what you can achieve when you get a community involved.”

Holtspur community event