Unsung

Hero

2020

Liza Street - Winner

Judging by the large volume of nominations that we received for Liza, she must be the most popular, as well as the most caring worker, at The Queens Court residential care home in Buckhurst Hill.  She has worked there for four years. During this time her work particularly with activities, has brought the care home alive. She connects with people of all ages, levels and backgrounds. Even during her battle with breast cancer last year the residents were her first thought, she returned to work within four months of her mastectomy.  Her Manager Mary Joseet wrote: “Families and friends of the residents adore Liza and are reassured that their loved ones are with her.  She is a constant support for them while their loved ones are in    our home. You can often hear the residents asking for Liza and commenting on  how things aren’t the same without her being there. She is one of the most selfless  people I have met and continues to amaze me on a daily basis with her dedication    and commitment to our Staff, Residents, their families and friends.”

Marie Coburn - Highly Commended

Marie is a nurse at Broomfield Hospital, on the morning of September 15th she was dropping off her children at primary school when, out of the blue, 49 year old Jogger Paul Wright collapsed in front of her. He had suffered a sudden cardiac arrest. Without hesitation, Marie commenced CPR, and continued even after the ambulance had arrived. Paul ended up being intubated on site and air-lifted to Broomfield Hospital where he spent 6 days in an induced coma on a life support machine. Miraculously, Paul survived. The heart specialist confirmed on 28th September that the quick actions and high quality of CPR performed by Marie had saved Paul’s life. Paul’s wife, and nominator, Nadine said,  “Had it not been for Marie’s quick action and selflessness, I would have been without my husband and our children without their father. Marie even offered to accompany Paul in the helicopter as she didn’t want him to be left alone. She is a remarkable person and most certainly my unsung hero. I don’t know how I could ever repay Marie, but this award would go some way to recognising her outstanding act of kindness and bravery at a time when most people would have panicked and struggled to know what to do.”

Jean Miley  - Highly Commended

Jean leads an amazing charity called Harlow Stroke Support - Rehab. Centre.
They support 300 stroke survivors and their families. Each week, Jean runs exercise classes, speech & language classes, cognitive rehab. classes and social groups.
Currently Jean is providing a phone support service to our members, then organising repeat prescriptions, food deliveries and getting errands run so that the vulnerable members stay in. Every member gets a regular check-in phone call to make sure they are well and to reduce social isolation. Each day she provides crosswords, quizzes and projects to keep members focussed and to ensure that they have a clear purpose, to maintain their mental health.

 

Vikki Turner and Deidre Taylor  - Highly Commended

Vikki and Deidre both work in a small Tesco outlet at Southend-on-Sea. They noticed that they had not seen regular customer Val for four days. They made enquiries to find out where she lived and went to the apartments. By knocking on doors and asking they discovered which one she lived in. They knocked loudly several times but got no reply. Then they heard a groan from inside, looking through the letterbox they saw Val laying on the floor with blood and flies surrounding her. They got help and managed to break open the door. Val had been there for over three days following a fall. They called an ambulance straight away. The Doctors say if it wasn’t for them checking to see if Val was okay she would have been dead. Val has now been relocated to a sheltered home.

Dean Weedon - Highly Commended

Dean has been suffering from severe depression ever since he lost his wife to cancer three years ago. Dean is blessed with a fine singing voice and despite his         own struggles has been giving up his time every Thursday, singing to raise money for the NHS, Marie Curie, Saint Francis Hospice and MIND, as well as helping all the           local food banks. In a short time, he’s raised over £6500 for these wonderful charities. He has recorded & sold his CD’s, he has organized food banks (raised the   money, shopped and distributed the food himself) and organised auctions.Two of his many nominators Amanda Potter and Lynn Robinson said:  “He never stops, he has got a heart of gold. He is still raising money today and organising food parcels for people struggling at Christmas. Dean has put all his  efforts into bringing the community together during these troubled months and restored our faith in human nature.”
 

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Other Supporters

Anglia Ruskin University Chelmsford