Wear a Hat Day 2021 for Brain Tumour Research celebrates key workers
Staff at Royal Stoke University Hospital are taking part in the national fundraising event to help find a cure for the disease.
Staff on the Royal Stoke University Hospital neurosurgery ward
Staff on a neurosurgery ward are raising money for Brain Tumour Research.
The staff at Royal Stoke University Hospital care for brain tumour patients themselves, and are taking part in Wear a Hat Day 2021 to help find a cure for the disease.
The national fundraising event, on March 26, this year celebrates key workers who have played such a critical role in the pandemic.
Neurosurgery ward manager, Carrie-Ann Smith, who lives in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, said: "This is a very important cause to me, not just because I am constantly working with brain tumour patients on the ward, and putting together care plans which often include very complex needs, but also because I lost a really good friend to a brain tumour.
"Tony was my next-door neighbour ever since I was a young girl and passed away from a glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) brain tumour aged 44.
"I am god mum to his grandchildren and they have also asked to donate to our fundraising."
Mum-of-four Samantha Gilmore, 36, of Newcastle-under-Lyme, a trainee nurse on placement on the neurosurgery ward, said: "Since working with neurosurgery patients, it has really hit me how indiscriminate brain tumours are in that, unlike many other cancers, brain tumours aren't related to age, risk factors or life-style.
"In fact, it seems that many brain tumour patients have led very fit and healthy lives, taking regular exercise, eating well, not smoking or drinking heavily, yet still get diagnosed with this devastating disease.
"I am finding the breadth of learning quite incredible as each neurosurgery patient's needs can be quite specific and recovery can be very slow, with surgery affecting anything from mobility, cognition and speech to loss of memory and the ability to swallow.
"And, along with the doctors and nurses on the ward, who are all so knowledgeable and passionate about their jobs, we have highly specialised staff supporting our patients from physiotherapists and occupational therapists to speech and language therapists and dieticians.
"Before I started my placement on the neurosurgery ward earlier this month, I did some research and was shocked to discover that brain tumours kill more children and adults under the age of 40 than any other cancer."
Carrie-Ann added: "We are all very much looking forward to donning our best or silliest hats and celebrating Wear A Hat Day with our patients in a Covid-safe way.
"As we can't allow visitors at the moment, it should bring a little bit of fun and laughter to our patients on the ward.
"We will be holding a competition to judge who is wearing the best hat and the winner will win a bottle of prosecco.
"I have been told that the hospital's chief operating officer is getting involved and that the chief nurse and chief executive, although they will both be on leave on the day, are planning to send in photos of themselves wearing hats."
This year's Wear A Hat Day is paying tribute to key worker families who have played a pivotal role throughout the coronavirus pandemic.
Brain Tumour Research is inviting people to join in the fun of Wear A Hat Day by donning their best headwear from beanies to cowboy hats, flat caps to Panamas, baseball caps to berets.
Now in its 12th year, Wear A Hat Day has raised more than £2 million to help fund the fight against the disease.
It is one of the UK's biggest and best-loved brain tumour research awareness and fundraising days.
Brain Tumour Research funds sustainable research at dedicated centres in the UK.
It also campaigns for the Government and the larger cancer charities to invest more in research into brain tumours in order to speed up new treatments for patients and, ultimately, to find a cure.
Whilst Covid-19 restrictions still apply, the charity is politely reminding supporters to observe safety measures when planning their events.
Families, friends, workplaces and schools can however, still come together safely, virtually or in-person where restrictions allow, to raise money for this vital cause.
You can register to take part online.
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