Sister of inspirational fundraiser donates over £2k to Shropshire health trust
Doctors and nurses at Royal Shrewsbury Hospital are now able to provide better care to end of life patients thanks to the incredible fundraising journey of a courageous RAF flight sergeant who died last year.
Anna Irwin lost her battle with a rare form of lung cancer last year, aged 37, but not before she raised an incredible £98,421 for charity by organising multiple gruelling challenges.
These included a parachute jump, Ben Nevis climb and an Ironman endurance race.
Her sister Katie is a staff nurse on the acute medical unit (AMU) at RSH and she and her family have donated more than £2,000 to the department for the purchase of two syringe drivers that will give end of life patients instant access to pain and anti-sickness relief.
Katie said: “My sister fought the biggest battle of her life until the very last moment.
"She raised a huge amount of money for a wide variety of causes and I am delighted to be able to present the money to the unit where I work so that we are able to provide appropriate care to our end of life patients.
“Anna was the best big sister you could wish for and she made everyone so very, very proud, and I know she would fully support the decision to increase the amount of syringe drivers available to patients at RSH.”
Anna Irwin embarked on the inspirational fundraising mission after she was told that her lung cancer was incurable.
Her initial fundraising target was £30,000 but she ended up raising close to £100,000, with the majority of the funds being donated to the Teenage Cancer Trust and Cancer Research at The Royal Marsden. Any further money raised will now be donated to St Michael’s Hospice.
Hannah Pope, sister on AMU at RSH, said: “We are so proud of Katie. She puts on a brave face every day and carries on at work as normal, through such a devastating time, to always put the needs of her patients first.
“Katie’s sister was truly an inspirational woman and we are extremely grateful for the donation.
"The syringe drivers will really improve the experience offered to our end of life patients.”
Flight Sergeant Anna, who was based at RAF Shawbury, won a Sun Military Award in 2013 for saving lives whilst under fire from the Taliban in Afghanistan.
She was presented with the most outstanding airman award by Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall at a ceremony held to honour brave service personnel.
The sergeant was part of a medical emergency response team dispatched in a Chinook helicopter to rescue the soldiers after a suicide bomb attack on their base.
