Droitwich's NF survivor Nigel made trustee of Lee Spark charity - The Droitwich Standard

Droitwich's NF survivor Nigel made trustee of Lee Spark charity

Droitwich Editorial 19th May, 2022   0

A DROITWICH man has been made a trustee of a national charity which aims to support survivors of killer disease Necrotising Fascitis and their families.

Nigel Addison is himself a survivor of the condition which he contracted in November 2021.

He has now become a trustee of the Lee Spark Foundation, launched 22 years ago by Dee Cartledge after the death of her son at the age of 23 from Necrotising Fasciitis.

In his role, Nigel will raise funds for research and to help spread awareness of the disease to the general public and medical professionals.




He said: “In November last year I was suddenly taken ill at home.

“I was rushed to Worcestershire Royal by ambulance, initially because I had dangerously high ketone levels, from my


Type 2 diabetes, which alone could have killed me.

“After the diabetic team had brought them under control, I was referred to a registrar who diagnosed that I had NF and alerted the surgeon warning I had not long to live. “Thanks to his amazing diagnosis, and the wonderful work of the surgeon, I was operated on at 4am and was in theatre for eight hours, and then in a coma in ICU for six days.”

His family were uncertain of what the outcome would be and knew little about the rare disease but – after being put on a special drainage vac attached to the A4 size wound and 4cm deep on his stomach – he started to make a recovery.

Nigel said: “As I started to slowly recover, I began to research the disease, and came across the foundation, which has a Facebook page for sufferers and families to swap stories and help each other.

“I asked a lot of questions and received an enormous amount help and support from the group.”

The founder of the group, Dee Cartledge, is an expert in the field and has given talks all over the world on the subject, as well as running the foundation.

Nigel started to talk to Dee online and they have struck up a great friendship, and he started to support others in the group, as well as forward ideas to Dee to help the charity.

Dee said a lot of Nigel’s ideas were a great help and, as he had helped many group members, she thought he would be a great addition to the small team of trustees.

He has already started to organise events, including an online quiz and a social gathering in Birmingham in August.

The Lee Spark Foundation is the only registered charity in the UK supporting Necrotising Fasciitis survivors and families.

May is NF Awareness Month and Nigel said there had been some great news that the General Medical Council (GMC) has agreed for the first time for the disease to be included on the curriculum when training new junior doctors.

Visit NFSUK.org.uk for more.

Advertising

Advertise with the Droitwich Standard to reach your audience

Subscribe

Receive a weekly update to your inbox by signing up to our weekly newsletter.

Buy Photos

Buy photos online from the Droitwich Standard newspaper.

Online Editions

Catch up on your local news by reading our e-editions on the Droitwich Standard.