At the recent celebration of their Golden Wedding anniversary, Pat and Terry Wilson, from Darlington, asked guests to make a donation to the Appeal to bring state-of-theart MRI scanning technology to Darlington Memorial and Bishop Auckland Hospitals, in lieu of gifts – raising £530. Pat, said, “We have both had MRI scans and know how useful they can be when making a diagnosis. There’s absolutely nothing we need, and we feel very fortunate to have each other, a lovely family and, of course, our health. So we thought it would be great to raise money for a cause that will benefit so many people from across Durham and Darlington in the future, and asked our guest to make a donation rather than give us a gift.
We put donation envelopes on each table and our family and friends were very generous – one envelope had £100 in it!” The couple, who now live in E D Walker Homes on Coniscliffe Road, have always been involved in the community, with Pat serving as a magistrate for 26 years. She has also had four children’s books published, donating royalties to UNICEF. Dr Elizabeth Loney, Clinical Director for Radiology at County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust, said, “We are very grateful to Mr & Mrs Wilson for their generous donation. We want to bring the very latest in scanning technology to our hospitals and MRI scans are particularly good at looking at soft tissues.
Tremendous advances in technology over recent years mean they can be enormously helpful in diagnosing cancer, heart conditions, strokes and many other health issues. Scans can also give doctors information that previously required the patient to undergo surgery or another invasive procedure as part of the investigation of their symptoms. Crucially, MRI scanners don’t use radiation, unlike x-rays. “MRI scans are so useful we’re doing more of them each year. In the last year alone the number has increased by 11%.” If you can help fundraise for our MRI Scanner Appeal, organise an event, make a direct donation or help through volunteering to support us, please contact pat.chambers1@nhs.net or phone: 01325 743781.”
