Nurse Alison Cooper risked abseiling 160ft down the side of the hospital where she works to thank them for saving her life.
The 52-year-old from the Isle of Dogs took the plunge at St Thomas’s in Lambeth to raise money for the NHS trust that runs it.
She went to A&E after becoming unwell during her shift on Christmas Day in 2016—and was diagnosed with a bowel obstruction which can be life threatening if not treated in time.
Alison, a nurse practitioner for four years at the hospital, had to have emergency laparotomy surgery and spent two weeks recovering in the gastro-intestinal ward and returned to work after three months.
“Recovering from surgery was tough,” Alison recalled. “So I’m thankful I was treated in time.
“The nurses went out of their way to make me comfortable which helped me come to terms with what had happened.”
Alison, who trained as a nurse 30 years ago, abseiled last Friday as her way of thanking staff who looked after her.
“I felt a mixture of excitement and apprehension before the abseil,” she admitted. “But it was exhilarating going down and taking in the views of Big Ben and the London Eye and raising funds for a great cause.”
Alison and 200 adventurers descended to raise £135,000 for the hospital trust.
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