Royal Parks run to support My WiSH after two family members cared for by staff at West Suffolk and Newmarket hospitals

The love and care provided to two family members by staff at the West Suffolk and Newmarket hospitals has prompted a woman to raise money for a hospital charity.

Julie Spall took on the Royal Parks half marathon earlier this month and has so far collected £322 which is being directed towards the My WiSH Charity which supports the work at both hospitals.

The 54-year-old, who lives in Bury St Edmunds, was one of a vast number of people who ran through the streets of central London and took in some world-famous landmarks and four Royal Parks including Hyde Park, Green Park, St James’s Park and Kensington Gardens, on Sunday, October 10.

And she said she took part in the run as a way of thanking the two hospitals after they cared for her 92-year-old mother Joyce Dunphy and her granddaughter Aaliyah Ahmed.

Julie, who is nurture lead at the Howard Community Academy, praised the hospitals for the treatment both of them received.

She said she found her mother slumped on the floor at her home in Bury St Edmunds at the end of May.

“She was taken into the West Suffolk where they repaired her hip and then she went off to Newmarket for rehab and she’s now back on her feet. She spent about eight or nine days in West Suffolk and the same in Newmarket and the care she received was fantastic,” she said.

Meanwhile, Aaliyah, who lives in Elmswell, fell out of her high chair on Christmas Eve and hurt her head.

Julie said: “She was two-years-old at the time and was initially taken into A&E and then onto the Rainbow Ward but she was able to get back home for Christmas Day so we got a bit of Christmas with her.

“She was provided with a toy to hold when she went in and everything that my daughter needed was also provided for. The care both my mother and granddaughter received was amazing.

“The compassion from the staff at the hospitals with my mother was so good especially as it was during the Covid-19 pandemic and not being able to be with her.”

Julie’s latest half marathon was her third run of that distance and she said she has been pounding the streets of her home town for the past three years and added: “It (My WiSH) just seemed the right kind of charity to support.”

Sally Daniels, fundraising manager, thanked Julie for her support and added “Having Julie raise funds for all areas of the hospital is just fantastic. Not allocating it to a specific area, means we can direct the donation to anywhere it’s needed within the West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust”.