Neil Landry, a porter in the Radiology department at Lincoln County Hospital, has signed up for the Snowdon Sunrise Challenge on Sunday 12 July supporting United Lincolnshire Hospitals Charity.
Neil plays a crucial role supporting patients every day, escorting them from wards to the Radiology department for MRI and CT scans. He says it’s the good things that he sees happening every day that makes his role so enjoyable.
He said: “I have some brilliant conversations with the patients as I wheel them around the corridors, and I am always a little surprised at how thankful they are when all I have done is take them on their journey from the ward and back.”
Neil has not always been a porter. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Neil ran a successful events business, supplying medals and competitor numbers to many of the UK’s biggest sporting events, including the Great North Run. Then lockdown brought disastrous consequences for Neil and his business. He recalls: “There was no work, I was at a loose end and needed to do something. My van was sitting empty on the driveway.”
Neil heard about the need for NHS Community Responders and signed up, answering daily alerts to pick up shopping or prescriptions for people stranded in their own homes. During lockdown of 2021, he helped 131 people in and around Lincoln.
As restrictions eased, Neil tried to restart his business but unfortunately it was not that easy. Remembering the reward he felt as a responder, Neil decided on a career change and became a hospital porter, a role he describes as his “perfect job”.
Neil walks around 12 miles in a typical 10-hour shift at work. So it is no surprise that he has signed up to the Snowdon Sunrise Walk, a night-time trek from base to summit, to witness sunrise over the Welsh mountains.
He said: “The sunrise element has got me hooked. Walking at night is different to daytime, your senses are heightened, I think this will be a great challenge.”
Neil and his wife Amanda are walking together, aiming to fund projects that will improve patients’ lives.
“I would like to give something back. I see the good that the charity does across our hospitals and especially for the radiology unit where I work. So I am doing my bit to provide those added extras that the NHS cannot fund.”
United Lincolnshire Hospitals Charity Fundraiser, Connor Hill, is overjoyed that Neil and Amanda have signed up for the Snowdon Sunrise Walk. He said: “Every penny raised will be used to directly transform patient care in our hospitals. It really does make a massive difference, and we are so appreciative of their support.”
To support Neil on his challenge visit his fundraising page on United Lincolnshire Hospitals Charity website.
More details on the Snowdon Walk can be found on the website: Snowdon Sunrise Challenge