A GRANDFATHER from Oakley who was treated by the NHS for bowel cancer wants to give back to the hospitals that saved his life by holding a fundraising event to say thank you.

Brian Mann was diagnosed with bowel cancer at Basingstoke hospital in 2020 and had an operation to remove two fifths of his intestine.

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The 85-year-old father-of-two and grandfather-of-one had to travel to Winchester hospital for chemotherapy before a second operation.

He said he was inspired to raise funds for both Basingstoke and Winchester hospitals by a student nurse.

“She was attending to me and while she was doing that she was asked at about 4pm at the end of her shift if she would work extra hours and she said ‘of course’. They were rushed off their feet,” explained Brian, adding: “About an hour later she was still there looking after me and I asked her how much longer she would have to work and she said until 8pm or 9pm. I said that will be a bit of extra money and she looked at me and said ‘I don’t get paid anything, it costs my parents nearly £10k a year’.

“Whilst I was going through the rest of the treatment I watched these people caring for me and even tried to thank them and they said ‘we’re only doing our job’. I thought ‘I’m going to do something and if it’s the last thing I do I want to do something'.”

Brian, who used to work in aviation on the construction of air-buses, has designed pin badges and car stickers which he hopes to sell to raise funds for Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

He said: “The idea for me was I didn’t want to raise money so it winds up in government hands. I want to raise money for the NHS that I can trust. In the back of my mind was this young girl. She was lucky her parents could afford it. What about the thousands of others whose parents can’t afford it?”

Brian plans to organise the event to take place in the summer and said: “Not a gloomy day when it’s cold and damp and dark, let’s pick a day when it’s joyful and we’re thankful for what we’ve got.”

An emotional Brian, who has now fully recovered, said he wants to say thank you to all those who cared for him after his surgery, adding: “I had my surgery and then I developed septicaemia so I was in intensive care.

"I remember this lovely lady. I was coming back into this world and my eyes started to clear and there was a lady doctor and I was aware that someone was holding my hand. I was suddenly back in the world and when I opened my eyes she said ‘you are a fighter’.”

Brian is now looking for support to organise the event and sponsorship from local businesses. He can be contacted via email at bluerosecares4ourNHS@gmail.com.

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