Lady Captain 2009 (Bridget Whitworth)

Our Lady Captain is supporting two charities this year:

1    Bowel Cancer UK 

Suzi Robins was a dear friend and I know she is greatly missed by everyone that knew her – she was a unique personality and fought her illness with enormous courage and dignity, but nonetheless she lost the battle as do so many others.  Bowel Cancer UK is a charity dedicated to improving the quality of life of those affected by the disease and ultimately, reducing deaths from the second most common cause of cancer death in the UK. 

2     Spinal Research UK 

Again for personal reasons.  Every year more than 800 people in the UK are paralysed following injury to their spinal cord.  Spinal Research UK raises money to fund research into clinical treatments as well as vital basic scientific research and thanks to this research paralysis can, in some cases, now be treated and they are on the brink of applying therapies that will restore movement and feeling and transform the lives of paralysed people – such as Daniel, the son of a friend of mine who was paralysed in a car accident, that was not his fault, at the age of 18 – he is now 23, and while he has his own home, he has a carer with him 24 hours a day and for him and countless others spinal research is hope, hope for the future.

 

The Lady Captain's charity is the "Colchester Oncology Research Fund".  It's a local charity based at the hospital.  It is partly funded by the NHS but mostly by public donations.  A talk will be given at the Chat In in January concerning the charity.