From doctor who saved hundreds to 10-year-old who raised thousands – meet the nominees for our Who Cares Wins awards
WE have been overwhelmed by the nominations for this year’s Who Cares Wins awards.
It is making choosing the winners an extremely difficult decision for our panel of judges, which includes boxer Anthony Joshua, telly favourite Christine Lampard and former Paralympic swimmer Ellie Simmonds.
Our annual awards, sponsored by The National Lottery and in partnership with NHS Charities Together, honour amazing healthcare workers and volunteers who go above and beyond to care for the public.
Nominations for the awards have now closed and we will be revealing our shortlist next month, with the winners announced at a star-studded ceremony to be broadcast on Channel 4 on September 24.
Here, we share inspirational stories of some of the amazing heroes put forward by Sun readers.
Dr RACHEL HAWES OBE
Air Ambulance medic
AN idea by Rachel has saved hundreds of lives – and it is all thanks to her experience working with the British Army in Afghanistan.
Great North Air Ambulance Service medic Rachel – also a medical officer in the Army Reserve – developed and implemented the Blood On Board project in 2015.
GNAAS air ambulances have since carried blood and plasma, allowing for lifesaving transfusions to be carried out at the scene of an incident.
Rachel was inspired by her experience serving in Operation Herrick in Afghanistan during 2011, where blood and plasma was given to severely injured soldiers in the field, helping many to survive.
She said: “When I came back to the NHS I set about adapting that idea for a civilian setting.”
The project has now been used to treat more than 600 critically ill patients.
Claire Foster’s daughter Bethany, who was in a car crash aged 26, is one of them.
Bethany was left with life-changing injuries but her life was saved by a blood transfusion carried out at the scene.
Claire, who nominated Dr Rachel, said: “Beth wouldn’t be here without Dr Rachel and GNAAS. I’ll never be able to thank her enough for that.”
MAX WOOSEY
Raised £700,000
WHEN ten-year-old Max was given a tent by his neighbour Rick Abbott, who was dying of cancer, the one condition was he had adventures in it.
Starting in lockdown, Max, now 13, spent three years sleeping in his garden, raising more than £700,000 for the hospice that treated Rick at the end of his life and other charities.
Having started sleeping inside again earlier this year, Max, of Braunton, Devon, has been nominated for the Young Hero award.
He said: “I thought I’d do it for a few weeks, raise £100 and that would be it.
“But the money raised so far has paid for 15 nurses for a whole year for the hospice that helped Rick. I’m not sure it’s the adventure he had in mind for me, but I don’t think either of us could imagine how much a garden camp-out would capture the imagination of people.”
Leo Cooper, head of marketing and communications for the North Devon Hospice, which benefitted from Max’s incredible fundraising, says the hospice cannot thank him enough.
He said: “Max pretty much single-handedly ensured we were able to keep providing services – like we had for Rick – throughout lockdown.
“Max is the proof that everyone can make a difference and with a bit of courage, anything is possible.”
MEL DIXON
Charity worker
MUM-OF-THREE Mel is nominated for an Unsung Hero award for founding a charity that has managed to raise almost £200,000 in a matter of months.
She started Cure DHDDS in March this year to help families when they receive the devastating diagnosis of an incredibly rare genetic condition.
After years of worrying symptoms and battling to get a diagnosis, her eldest son Tom, 13, and youngest child, Rosie, eight, were diagnosed with DHDDS (dehydrodolichyl diphosphate synthase) – a rare genetic mutation that results in tremors, epilepsy, learning difficulties, ataxia and can include autism, anxiety and psychosis.
Only 70 cases are known worldwide.
Mel, 44, a former PR worker, who is also mum to Harry, 11, said: “As a parent you think getting a diagnosis is the start of things getting better; that your child will be able to access treatment and help. But in our case, as with anyone with DHDDS, it’s not.”
The family were told there was no treatment and that the condition Tom and Rosie had would progress.
But Mel was determined not to give up.
She said: “I thought if medicine can’t make a difference to them right now, then I will.”
After looking into possible treatments around the world, Mel formed the charity Cure DHDDS and has raised more than £185,000 so far – with a £500,000 goal – to fund research and help support other families.
Mel, pictured with Tom and Rosie, said: “I genuinely believe if we keep going on the path we’re on, we could get to a point in the future where DHDDS is treatable, even if it’s not curable. It’s just about trying to give hope in what feels like a hopeless situation.”
Samantha Moynes
Nurse
OFF-duty nurse Samantha was heading to pick up her daughter from school when she saved the life of a man whose heart stopped for ten minutes.
The 34-year-old senior sister for the acute response team at Medway NHS Foundation Trust, spotted Geof Turner, 69, collapsed near the school gates in Chatham, Kent, in March.
She has now been nominated in the Best Nurse category by grateful Geof, who had been on his way to pick up his six-year-old granddaughter Ivy.
Samantha recalled: “At first, I thought Geof had fallen over. I had my two-year-old daughter with me too but when I realised he needed help, I started to run.
“Geof was doing agonal breaths, which is an awful gasp, and means someone is struggling to breathe. He had no pulse. I knew immediately he’d gone into cardiac arrest.”
She sprung into action and sent another parent to fetch a defibrillator from inside the school, while she started CPR and another mum called 999.
Samantha, pictured with Geof, said: “Just as paramedics arrived, I felt a pulse. I don’t think I’ll ever forget that feeling.”
Geof, who lives in Stafford, Staffs, was taken to Medway Maritime Hospital, in Gillingham, Kent, then transferred to St Thomas’ Hospital, London, for open heart surgery.
He is now back at home and recovering well.
The Sun reunited the pair and Geof said: “She saved my life. I was in a dire state. She is totally responsible for allowing me to go on enjoying my life.”