PATIENTS at a Leamington health charity will be enjoying extra activities after their chair raised more than £900 in her first-ever adult race.
Caroline Wilson, now in her early 60s, completed a 5km race in Daventry on Sunday September 7 for Castel Froma Neuro Care.
It was the first race Caroline had entered since childhood, and she raised £905 for the charity that treats NHS patients with complex neurological illnesses like Multiple Sclerosis or Parkinson’s disease, or who have suffered trauma in an accident.
She said: “This was my first race since school and it was both exhilarating and exhausting, but I was determined to cross the finishing line.
“I’m still not sure I’m runner material, and it took an organisation like Castel Froma to get me motivated to give it a try.
“I’m not measuring success by how many minutes it took, but I’m thrilled at how more than £900 has been raised for Castel Froma, money that will be ring-fenced for activities to support residents’ well-being.”
Caroline explained that the NHS only pays for basic care, accommodation and some therapies at the charity’s facilities at Lillington House and Helen Ley House in Leamington.
Many patients need months or years of rehabilitation before they move to more independent living, and so Castel Froma relies on grants and fund-raising to pay for extra activities and entertainment.
Caroline added: “The funds that people have generously donated can make a massive difference to our residents’ wellbeing, making Castel Froma more like a home than a hospital.”
Caroline’s 5km race was in the Viridian Daventry Triathlon, in which she both ran and swam, while her husband cycled.
Visit www.gofundme.com/f/improve-lives-at-castel-froma to donate.
