Ward Manager and family donate £2,200 towards garden project at RJAH

A beautiful garden that will offer a sanctuary for spinal injury patients has been boosted by a £2,200 donation by a Ward Manager at The Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital (RJAH) and her two siblings, in memory of their beloved ‘Gramps’.

Rebecca Warren, Ward Manager on the Midlands Centre for Spinal Injuries (MCSI), her sister Sharon Warren – a former Healthcare Assistant at RJAH – and brother Peter Warren have donated the sum, which will go towards the creation of the stunning Horatio’s Garden that is coming to RJAH.

A capital appeal was launched last summer to raise the £675,000 needed to complete the ambitious project at the Oswestry-based hospital, and following the death of their grandfather – Ronald Wear – affectionately known as ‘Gramps’ to the siblings and everyone at RJAH.

He passed away in July 2017 and Rebecca said her and her siblings wanted to ensure something positive came out of losing their “best friend and grandfather”.

She said: “Losing Gramps was the worst thing to ever happen to us. He was not only our Gramps, he was a dad to us all, he was our best friend and inspiration. He was everything to us and that’s why we wanted to do something to remember him by.

“Horatio’s Garden is something I’m passionate about and delighted that it’s coming here to RJAH, and it was something Gramps felt passionately about too because he understood the difference it would make to our patients with spinal injuries.

“When Gramps was 27, he suffered spinal cord injuries after he was trampled on by a bull while working on a farm, so he knows himself the impact spinal injuries have on a person.”

The funds donated by the siblings were raised from their Gramps’ funeral, as well as through selling off any items of his that did not hold sentimental value to them – such as electrical goods including a television, as well as a satnav.

Horatio’s Garden is a national charity that creates and cares for gardens in NHS spinal injury centres and the garden in Oswestry will be the fourth they create.

The garden is being part-funded by the hospital’s own League of Friends.

The Lady Trevor, Vice Chairman of the League of Friends, said: “This project will make a remarkable difference to patients. The fact that this hospital is the fourth in the country to be selected for one of these beautiful gardens speaks volumes about the calibre of the hospital, staff and surgeons.”

Mark Brandreth, Chief Executive, said: “I think this donation is a wonderful way to remember Gramps – as he was lovingly known by all at RJAH. I’d like to say a big thank you to Becky, Sharon and Peter for this generous donation.

“This garden, once created, will completely transform the experience of our spinal injury patients. Rather than staring up at the ceiling, they’re going to have somewhere they can go outside of their room where they will feel the wind on their face and hear the birds sing, something most of us take for granted.”