After her 83-year-old grandad Peter lost his battle with COVID-19 in November, Steph Liversidge wanted to give something back to the amazing NHS heroes at Leeds Teaching Hospitals who cared for him. Steph signed up to become a ‘Hospital Hero’ to raise funds for Leeds Hospitals Charity.

The charity set up their ‘Hospital Heroes’ fundraising initiative last year, asking supporters to pledge to raise £1,000 to help staff at their local NHS hospitals provide the best care for patients and families.

To kick off her year of fundraising, Steph decided to run 100 miles throughout January to raise funds and thanks to her perseverance has so far raised a fantastic £1,010!

Steph who was born in Leeds but now lives more than 80 miles away Durham, said she found being away from her family so difficult, “The nature of coronavirus is so inhumane, the fact I couldn’t see my grandad, or be there to support my nan, dad and the rest of my family was so hard. The staff at St James’s were incredible, they gave my family updates on how grandad was doing two to three times a day; they were so caring and reassuring despite the immense pressure they must have been under.”

Steph braved the snow and freezing temperatures whilst out running, knowing that her grandad Peter would be cheering her on, “Grandad was determined and fought as hard as he could against coronavirus but in the end his body was just too weak to carry on. I wanted to channel the strength he showed, by getting up every day and pushing myself to run, whether it was 5k or 10k!”

 

 

Click here to donate Steph’s JustGiving page. 

 

If like Steph, you’re interested in supporting the hardworking NHS heroes at your local hospitals, you can find out more about Leeds Hospitals Charity’s ‘Hospital Hero’ initiative and sign up here.