Grimsby resident to raise money for Eaton Court staff

Paul Windley, a relative of a resident at Eaton Court has witnessed first-hand the care and dedication provided by the staff and has decided to give back.

Paul explained what motivated him to start the fundraising. “My soul mate Michelle (48),  the mother of our two beautiful daughters Charlotte and Saskia, had a cardiac arrest last July and suffered serious brain damage as a result, which has left her unable to communicate and needing long term nursing care. After spending some time at a neuro-rehab unit in Goole, she moved to Eaton Court in February 2020.

“Michelle has a loving family and, having just got her back to Grimsby, you can imagine how heartbroken we were that we then ended up going into lockdown and unable to see her.  However, we fully supported Eaton Court's decision to go into early lockdown to protect all its residents, and the staff have been nothing less than brilliant during what has obviously been a very difficult time. They have been patient with our telephone calls and kindly set up video calls so that we could talk to Michelle and hopefully reassure her that she's always in our thoughts. More importantly, the nursing staff have taken such good care of Michelle and have been very attentive to her condition, not just medically but also through chatting to her regularly. All this while under immense pressure.”

Paul felt that although the Thursday night clap to say thank you to the NHS and care workers was one way of recognising their hard work, he wanted to thank the staff at Eaton Court in particular and in a way, however small, that would be of some benefit to them. As he took up running two years ago, he thought he would raise money by running his first half marathon.

“The Christmas party idea seemed like a good way of saying thanks, based on the hope that by Christmas we would be a bit nearer being back to normal and what better way to let your hair down after an exhausting time than have a party! My thinking was that if I raised as much as £500, it would go towards paying for a good meal for everyone and maybe a few drinks”, he said.

Paul has already surpassed his goal and we have offered to match whatever monies he raises so he is delighted and very grateful for everyone’s support.

He concludes “No matter how hard that half marathon gets, that support will see me through and it it will be nothing compared to what the amazing people at Eaton Court have been through over the last few months.”

Watch this space for an update on his run and anyone wishing to donate can visit:

https://www.gofundme.com/f/thanking-eaton-court-care-workers.