Mum’s epic walk to say thank you
Alyson walks 81 miles after hospital saves son
Alyson (third from left) with mum Jessie, sister Arlene, nephew Blair, brother-in-law Ian and family friend Jessie, leaving Ninewells Hospital
Picture: Colin Moon A Perthshire mum has completed a fundraising walk across Scotland to thank the hospital staff who helped save her son’s life.
Alyson Rice walked all the way from Ninewells Hospital in Dundee to Clydebank – over 81 miles – and raised £3000 for the hospital.
This comes after she and her husband Rod were told to prepare for the worst when their son Cody (19) was diagnosed with the bloodstream infection septicaemia.
His condition developed into endocarditis, an infection of the inner lining of the heart chambers and heart valves, which saw him transferred from Ninewells to the Golden Jubilee Hospital for open heart surgery.
During his operation, he received extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, which is a technique of providing prolonged cardiac and respiratory support to patients whose heart and lungs are not functioning properly.
Mum Alyson said: “It is due to the care and dedication of an amazing medical team at the Golden Jubilee National Hospital’s intensive care unit that Cody is still here today.
“Many of his doctors considered him a miracle and had he not made it to Clydebank, he most certainly would have died.
“The staff in the intensive care unit do the most amazing jobs. Not only did they look after Cody but also myself and my husband Rod.
“My ‘Jubilee Jaunt’ was just a thank you to the staff at the Golden Jubilee National Hospital for caring for Cody.
“The whole team went above and beyond to make sure Cody had the best chance of survival. Myself and my husband will be forever grateful.”
She added: “I planned the walk from Ninewells to the Golden Jubilee to represent the journey Cody took and to raise not only money for this amazing team, but also to raise awareness of this lifethreatening condition.”
Alyson was joined on part of her
Alyson with Janette McNair, a charge nurse in the ICU and her sister Arlene Legge
walk by her sister Arlene Legge and Janette MacNair, a charge nurse in the intensive care unit that treated her son.
Anne Marie Cavanagh, nurse director at the Golden Jubilee said: “Our amazing medical and nursing staff do a first class job, with our critical care teams looking after patients at the worst point in their lives.
“We are delighted to hear that Cody is on the road to recovery and we wish him all the very best as he continues on that journey.
“We are extremely grateful to Alyson and her supporters for raising such a fantastic sum of money and congratulate her on completing her Jubilee Jaunt.”