Anne-Marie Farrar supports CT scanner Appeal

4 June 2009

Former Addenbrooke’s patient, Anne-Marie Farrar, is supporting our new mailing appeal to raise money towards an innovative mobile CT scanner for the Neurosciences department at Addenbrooke’s.

Anne-Marie has provided photos of herself growing up for a new door-drop mailer called ‘My Photos’ that was distributed to 40,000 homes in the Cambridge area this week to promote the appeal. The photos depict Anne-Marie on birthdays throughout her life.

Anne-Marie spent her 28th birthday in surgery for a brain haemorrhage and following her recovery, raised money for the appeal at a party for her 30th birthday.

Anne-Marie said: "I know better than anyone how important CT scans are. And the mobile scanner will help the team at Addenbrooke's give faster scans, more efficiently and with less risk. Please give what you can so that people like me can enjoy a lifetime of happy birthdays."

CT scans are crucial to the care and outcome of brain haemorrhage patients like Anne-Marie. Currently it can take a team of staff up to one hour to move a very sick, ventilated patient to the static scanner. It can be a risky journey as the brain haemorrhage could be aggravated or worsened.

Mr Kirkpatrick, Anne-Marie’s Consultant Neurosurgeon, said: “By having a mobile CT scanner permanently available, scans can be performed in minutes at a critically ill patient’s bed, with minimal disturbance. This means we won’t have to put them through the dangerous process of travelling to the usual facility. It is urgently required.”

Click here for more information about the appeal.