Yaxley family donate £9,000 in memory of husband and dad

Ian was under the care of the Renal Unit for 20 years after being diagnosed with kidney failure in 1999 and sadly passed away from Cancer in June of last year.

Samantha Ripley, Ian’s wife, wanted to give back to the department for their support over the years and asked for donations instead of flowers at his funeral.

She said: “The ward were absolutely brilliant and did everything they could to give Ian extra time following his cancer diagnosis. I wanted to do something for all their support during his time with them, and asked for donations instead of flowers, raising roughly £1,600.”

When Samantha asked what the money would be used for, the staff explained that they wanted to buy another dialysis machine.

“After hearing that they were collecting donations for another dialysis machine, I just knew I had to do more,” said Samantha. “On the eve of my 50th birthday, I created a JustGiving fundraising page and joined Facebook, where I asked friends and family to help me raise money.

“Ian was well thought of, so it’s no surprise that our family and friends rallied to help us do something wonderful in his memory. The response I received was overwhelming and in total, with the money from the funeral, we raised £9,392.45."

Kaylie Harvey, Ward A8 Manager, said: “On behalf of everyone on Ward A8, I would like to thank to Mrs Ripley and her family for their fundraising efforts over the last 18 months. It was a pleasure to care for Mr Ripley during his hospital stays. We built up a lovely rapport with him and his family and will always think of them with great fondness.

“We feel incredibly lucky to have received such a wonderful donation and have used this to buy a new haemodialysis machine for the Ward. This has helped us expand our haemodialysis service so we are able to better serve a growing population.”