On 15th May 2022, Lloyd McMillan and Matthew Lloyd will be taking on the Copenhagen marathon to raise money for Guy’s and St Thomas’ Charity (G00749). 

The charity supports the incredible NHS staff and the exceptional care they provide for patients and communities. The charity means a lot to both of us following our close friend Brian’s stay in ICU in St Thomas' last year. His story is extraordinary - here it is:

In July 2021, Brian was admitted to hospital after contracting Covid and suffering with breathing difficulties. During his stay, he contracted pneumonia and sepsis on top of severe Covid, and after two months, his condition deteriorated so rapidly, the decision was made to put him in an induced coma and on a ventilator.

However, with the severity of Brian's condition and his lungs deemed to be failing after no response even from the intubation, the only remaining option was to be placed on ECMO. 

ECMO, or Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation, is known as 'the pinnacle of life support,' which in very simple terms replaces the work of the lungs and heart by removing blood from the body, adding oxygen and removing carbon dioxide, before pumping it back through the body. St Thomas’ is one of only five hospitals in the UK that facilitates specialist ECMO treatment.

At one point, Brian had been on ECMO longer than anyone else in the UK, which gives you a sense of how far away his body was from being able to survive independently. However, miraculously, after 47 days, he was able to come off ECMO and leave ICU to continue his recovery. Finally, four months after initially becoming ill and suffering sepsis, pneumonia, cardiac arrest, two collapsed lungs and a severe pulmonary embolism, Brian had defied all odds of surviving and was discharged home.

Brian said, "The fact I’m still here today is all down to the incredible staff and exceptional care I received. I owe the nurses, doctors and therapists everything and feel extremely fortunate to have been given ECMO treatment which no doubt saved my life. I feel honoured that Lloyd and Matt have chosen to support the charity and it’s great to know the money raised will help save lives and support the extraordinary NHS workers”.

We're so pleased to have the opportunity to support Guy's and St Thomas' Charity with the pioneering research, scientific breakthrough and their never-end care for the most vulnerable people. 

Put simply, the doctors and nurses at Guy's and St Thomas' Hospital, and the extraordinary technology we're fortunate to have access to in the UK, saved our friend's life. We know that anything we raise can and will help to save someone else's.

Thank you so much for your support!