Vital funds raised for Sheffield hospital charity as thanks

A Sheffield woman who says she feels lucky to be alive is raising vital funds to thank hospital staff who saved her life.
Keeley Ibbotson (right) and her family will take part in a charity walk for the Children's Hospital CharityKeeley Ibbotson (right) and her family will take part in a charity walk for the Children's Hospital Charity
Keeley Ibbotson (right) and her family will take part in a charity walk for the Children's Hospital Charity

Keeley Ibbotson, age 34, from Sheffield, will be walking alongside her team of ten for Sheffield Hospitals Charity to support the Coronary Care Unit to thank the hospital staff who resuscitated her after a cardiac arrest.

Prior to hospital admission, Keeley had been feeling unwell for quite some time and had a few courses of antibiotics and two chest X-rays to treat what doctors thought to be a chest infection.

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However, Keeley began to deteriorate further to the point where she was struggling to go about her day to day life due to severe chest pain.

She made the decision to visit her local GP who sent her straight to the Medical Assessment Unit at the Northern General Hospital.

Keeley said: “I remember having some tests and an ultrasound and the next thing I knew I was in theatre having a litre and a half of fluid drained from around my heart.

“The feeling of release was amazing as the fluid was drained and I could breathe more easily. I was then put in CCU with a drain from my heart to release the excess fluid.

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“During the rest of my stay in hospital I had numerous x-rays, cat scans and echocardiograms and I found out I had plural pericarditis and streptococcus pneumonia which meant there was a lot of bad bacteria surrounding my heart.

“After my heart drain was removed I had to have a drain in my lung as fluid started to build up there too. Then two weeks after I’d been admitted I had a cardiac arrest, it took the team three and a half minutes to bring me back.

“I was petrified, as expected – I was so scared that I wouldn’t see my boys or my family and friends again.

“I can’t even begin to describe the sense of relief that flooded over me when I started picking up and feeling better. I could finally see a light at the end of everything I had been through.

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“After almost a month I was discharged with a pic line into the outpatient parenteral antimicrobial therapy (OPAT) service and I was also under the infectious disease team at the Hallamshire.

“The care and treatment I received was second to none, I cannot thank all the staff enough and I will be forever grateful.

“I feel so lucky to have been through what I have and come out the other side. It has been a long hard road to recovery but I’m alive and here to tell the tale.

“If I could see the staff that treated me whilst I was so poorly I don’t think I could say thank you enough, the work they do is truly amazing.”

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Keeley will be taking part in Walk for Wards on the 8th September in a team of 11 including her two sons, her sister, her three nieces and nephew, her auntie and two cousins.

The team are hoping to raise over £500 for Sheffield Hospitals Charity to thank the NHS staff for saving Keeley’s life.

You can donate to her Just Giving Page by visiting www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Michelle-footitt site.

To donate funds to enhance patient care in the city’s adult hospitals, visit www.sheffieldhopsitalscharity.org.uk/donate website.

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Sheffields Hospital Charity helps tom improve the treatment of local patients and supports NHS staff in all of the Sheffield Teaching Hospitals. These include Royal Hallamshire Hospital, Northern General Hospital, Weston Park Cancer Hospital and others in the Sheffield area.