Magician conjures up funding for Epsom Hospital kit (From Your Local Guardian)
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Magician conjures up funding for Epsom Hospital kit
11:10am Monday 22nd June 2009 in
A former knee-surgery patient of Epsom Hospital has a magic touch.
Don Hamilton, a member of the Surrey Society of Magicians, has spent two-and-a-half years fundraising for new medical equipment and has at last reached his goal.
On Wednesday, June 10, Mr Hamilton presented a cheque for £5,050 to doctors and nurses at the Elective Orthopaedic Centre (EOC) .
Mr Hamilton, a great-grandfather who will be 76 this year, had a knee replacement at the centre in July 2006.
During his time in the hospital, he had to undergo a scan and got talking to the staff who were treating him.
He said: “A doctor told me hand-held scanners meant they could see people faster, but they didn’t have as many as they would like.
"So I set my sights on raising the money for them as a way of saying thank you for the excellent care I received.
“My wife Joan and I did everything we could think of.
"We organised coffee mornings, had bric-a-brac and car-boot sales, asked for donations, you name it we did it. I even sold my car!”
Mr Hamilton also sold his library of magic props and old ornaments for the cause.
He added: “The treatment I received at the EOC was absolutely wonderful. The staff were always jolly, always professional and my surgery was a success. I really can’t speak highly enough of them.”
Sue King is the director of nursing for the EOC said: “Everyone at the centre was delighted to see Mr Hamilton again and we are incredibly grateful for his generous donation.
"It will allow us to buy three hand-held doppler scanners which are used to help identify the presence of a deep vein thrombosis (blood clots) in patients’ legs.”
The EOC specialises in knee and hip replacements and, since opening in 2004, more than 15,000 patients have been treated there.
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Don Hamilton, a member of the Surrey Society of Magicians, has spent two-and-a-half years fundraising for new medical equipment for Epsom Hospital
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