Grateful mum fundraising for specialist hospital unit

A grateful mum is fundraising for a specialist hospital unit as a token of gratitude and thanks to the teams who treated her son.

Jake, who is pursuing International Business Management studies at Northumbria University, was seriously assaulted on a fateful night out in Newcastle in October 2023. 

As a result, he sustained serious fractures to his skull which damaged his hearing organs and left Jake profoundly deaf in both ears.

The 21-year-old was taken to Royal Victoria Infirmary Hospital in Newcastle for urgent treatment and was later fast-tracked to the cochlear implant team in James Cook.

The expert hospital teams fitted a cochlear implant in Jake’s ear, which has been described as a ‘game-changer’ by his mother. 

She said: “Jake’s life changed overnight but with the support and expertise of the incredible audiology team, he was fast-tracked for a cochlear implant. The implant and switch on have been a game changer for him.

Our story, our experience is a reminder of how important and how lucky we are to have the NHS.  I honestly don’t know what we would’ve done without the cochlear implant team guiding and supporting us as we navigated a very traumatic situation, especially for Jake. We need to protect it and support them to continue their vital work.”

Rachael also thanked Gaynor Stone, Anirvan Banerjee and Mr Yates and Erika Grant from the audiology team for their exceptional care.

Lisa Meehan, fundraising manager from Our Hospitals Charity, said: “We are so grateful to Rachael for the fundraising she is doing for Our Hospitals Charity. This will make such a difference to other patients attending the cochlear implant service.

“It’s great to hear that Jake received such wonderful care from the staff here at James Cook and we are delighted that Jake’s cochlear implant was fitted successfully after such a worrying time for the whole family. 

We would like to send our best wishes to Jake and good luck to his mum for taking part in GNR 2024 – we're rooting for you!”

Consultant ENT (ear, nose and throat) surgeon Anirvan Banerjee added: “We would like to express our gratitude to Rachael for her wonderful gesture.

“The team is thrilled with the progress Jake has been making. His patient experience talk at the BCIG (British Cochlear Implant Group) annual conference, which we had the pleasure of hosting, had a profound impact on the audience of hearing professionals.”