A dad-of-two who spent 16 weeks in hospital after a horrific incident left him fighting for his life, has presented NHSGGC staff with a four-figure donation as thanks for the help and care he received.
Scott Gold handed over a cheque for £6670 to the Neurorehabilitation Unit at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital – the proceeds of a charity event as a hotel near his home.
Scott, 37, from Paisley, suffered a head injury in August last year and spent 16 weeks in hospital.
After the incident Scott’s wife Stephanie had been warned to prepare for the worst. He spent five weeks in an induced coma in Intensive Care and two weeks in the High Dependency Unit.
He was then moved to the Neurorehabilitation Unit and over the following nine weeks he was able to make such positive progress with his recovery that the week before Christmas he achieved his dream to go home and be with Stephanie and their sons Oliver and Myles.
“They’ve given me my Scott back,” said Stephanie, 34, at the time. “It’s only when the worst happens that you find out how amazing these people are. I can’t really put into words how grateful I am.”
And those words of gratitude quickly turned into action, when Scott’s dad Kenny visited his local, the Crookston Hotel, for a quick drink. He and his family are regular customers at the hotel and when he was there Kenny ran into his friend Mick Marlin, who organises the hotel’s Sportsman’s Dinner every year.
Mick said: “I knew Scott’s story so when I heard his family wanted to do something to say thank you I knew I could help.
“The Sportsman’s Dinner has raised money for a range of charities over the years. This year’s event didn’t have a charity, so I suggested it should be in Scott’s honour.”
The dinner went ahead in February with around 100 people attending, and the event raised the fantastic amount of £6670.
So earlier this month Kenny, Scott’s mum Mechelle and brother Ian joined Scott and Mick at the NRU to hand over the money, which will be used to improve facilities for and the experience of patients who receive care there.
Donna Bisland, who is AHP Team Lead at the NRU and one of the team who were involved in his rehabilitation, was on hand to accept the donation, and afterwards she said: “On behalf of everyone involved in Scott’s care, and in this unit, I would like to thank him, Stephanie and the whole family, as well as Mick and his generous customers, for this wonderful gesture.
“Being in hospital can be tough, especially in a unit like this where patients can be with us for a considerable period, so anything we can do to make their time here a little brighter is important.
“This donation is so appreciated, and we’ll make sure it’s put to good use.”
Scott’s recovery is going well, and while he and Stephanie are under no illusions there is still a long way to go, he is happy that people have rallied round to support the unit that has done so much for him.
He said: “The staff here keep saying they were just doing their jobs, but to me – and I’m sure to all the other patients who have received help in this unit – they deserve every bit of praise and thanks that we can give them.
“I’m so glad we could all do something to say thank you in a way that might make a difference.”
Read Scott’s original story: ‘You gave us our Scott back’ – family thanks NHSGGC staff as dad comes home for Christmas – NHSGGC
For more about the NRU, go to: Neurorehabilitation Unit (NRU) Glasgow – NHSGGC
