Volunteers who helped deliver a vital delivery service at the Glasgow Royal during the pandemic have received some extra special thanks from a family who benefitted from it.
Kim Dick, whose sister Beverley is a patient in ward 31 following a stroke said: “I truly believe there’s a little magic about the place [Glasgow Royal].”
Throughout the pandemic while patients were not able to receive visitors, NHSGGC ran a ‘Give and Go’ scheme with the help of a small army of volunteers, many of whom were students and workers on furlough.
Kim and her sister Beverley benefitted from the scheme for many weeks.
She said: “What a special bunch of youngsters they were. Nothing was ever a problem, a bag was never too heavy and it was all delivered with a huge big smile. Their energy was immense.
“As well as recovering from a stroke, Beverley is also bi-polar, so it truly has been a roller-coaster for us all. She trained as a nurse – at the Royal – and is very particular about things being just right. So to be able to drop off clean nighties to her was such a relief for me and the rest of the family.
“I would also drop in wee notes with her stuff and even though she couldn’t see us, she knew by me doing that I continued to care. That’s how much the Give and Go meant to me.”
As the service drew to an end, Kim decided she had to do something special to repay their kindness. She wrote around 60 special thank you notes, complete with individual messages ad even wild flower seeds.
She added: “I felt they had done something really special, so for me the gesture seemed appropriate.”
Volunteer co-ordinator Louise Colquhoun said: “It was an honour for us to help Kim and her sister Beverley. What a lovely gesture for Kim to write all these beautiful cards. They even had ‘thank you’ in different languages on the front. It was so thoughtful and must have taken her ages to do!”
One volunteer to receive a card was Elliot Shaw.
He said: ““Kim’s personalised notes was an incredible act of kindness towards us volunteers. Her handwritten letters were truly motivating and inspiring, and I can’t even begin to fathom how long it took her to write them all! She even went the extra mile and presented them in the form of scrolls with brilliant calligraphy that we were to take away and to unravel. We really appreciate her kindness during such a time and wish her and Beverley well!”
ENDS