Throughout the busy academic year, physiotherapy students from the University of Nottingham have been raising money for “CRY”, Cardiac Risk in the Young, in memory of Alex Reid, a daughter of one of the academic lecturers, who passed away suddenly last summer at the age of 16. Alex is believed to have died from a young sudden cardiac death which affects at least 12 fit and healthy young people each week aged 35 years and under.
Heather, Alex’s mum told us “Alex loved her life, she told us so practically every day. She was full of enthusiasm, joy and love. She made us all feel great. She was an open and giving person and was loved by anyone who ever had the fortune to meet her. Alex had great massage skills (and was pretty famous for these with her peers) and although she had chosen to pursue medicine, I secretly hoped she might choose physiotherapy. Whichever she would have chosen, she would have been an assets to the profession.”
SUPA, the student union physiotherapy association along with KARNIVAL and student volunteers organised various events throughout the year to raise a current grand total of £2746.50 for the Alex Reid memorial fund within CRY although donations are still being received.
They started with a simple cake sale situated at the clinical sciences building at Nottingham City Hospital where the physio students' division is based. There was a huge variety of cakes and biscuits including Alex’s favourite rocky road. In total, £306 was raised.
Two taping and strapping courses were held throughout the year to allow students to advance their skills in certain taping techniques used in clinical practise and sporting occasions whilst expanding their knowledge and understanding of the tape used. Donations raised from the courses totalled £25.50.
The physiotherapy student union “SUPA” each year organise hoodies and stash for students to buy. This year an additional £1 charge could be added for delivery of the products to individuals homes. This extra £1 was donated to the CRY totalling an amount of £27.
Pancake day and what better way to raise money than by selling chocolate, jam, lemon and banana pancakes to staff and students at the CSB! A small group of first year students in the Nottingham University charity organisation “KARNIVAL” rose over £50 for CRY.
One weekend in May, over 20 physio students, three lecturers and one dog took to the hills of Yorkshire to hike up the three famous peaks “Pen-y-gent” (691 metres), “Whernside” (728 metres) and “Ingleborough” (723 metres). The aim is to complete the 24.5 mile hike in 12 hours. The event was a huge success with everyone enjoying the day and completing the hike! Unfortunately the weather wasn’t brilliant and visibility was poor however it didn’t dampen any spirits and a current total of £800 has been raised with sponsorship still being collected. This is the second year the physio students have taken on the challenge and hope advance to the national three peaks next year.
Physiotherapy students at Nottingham provide fantastic opportunities for students helping them to gain experience in many area’s of physiotherapy to advance their skills in ways which may not be possible elsewhere. For a number of years the students have helped out giving post massages at sporting events such as The Robin Hood Marathon and various Touch Rugby events. This year, two lecturers took 19 students who volunteered their time to help treat injuries, strapping/tapping and provide massage to 20 teams. The experience gained was huge with a variety of interesting injuries being treated, acute and chronic, including a suspected ankle fracture, subluxed glenohumeral joint, thumb and finger sprains as well as partially ruptured muscles. The donations received from the event totalled £128.
The final event organised my SUPA was the end of year physiotherapy ball whereby a charity auction would be held in memory of Alex. Heather and Haz (current physio student) chaired the event and it was a fantastic success with some incredible bids being placed! The largest bid was £250 for a Sunday roast hosted by Heather and her family for up to 6 people. One lucky student and his five friends cashed in on this prize which helped raise a grand total of £1410 on the night. A big thank you is said to all those businesses and auction items donated (Derby County FC, Q hotels-Aldwark Manor Golf and Spa Hotel, Nottingham Theatre Royal, CRY.org, Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club, physiotherapy lecturers and students, Capture Arcadia).
The highlighted success and fantastic fundraising by the physiotherapy students at the University of Nottingham is not to be unnoticed and a huge thank you goes out to all of the donations received. The students always manage to raise funds each year for various charities however focus this past academic year has been on CRY and we hope to continue to support the charity for many years to come highlighting the importance of cardiac screening in the young.
Posted on Friday 26th July 2013