Blackpool Victoria Hospital's '˜thank-ewe' to heart surgery patient

Hospital bosses have said a huge '˜thank-ewe' to a patient who donated the proceeds of a lamb sale at auction.
Lisa Huddleston, right, sold a lamb for £400 to Liz HoggarthLisa Huddleston, right, sold a lamb for £400 to Liz Hoggarth
Lisa Huddleston, right, sold a lamb for £400 to Liz Hoggarth

Blackpool Victoria Hospital’s Heart of Gold Charitable Fund is £400 better off after Lisa Huddleston chosen to support the Lancashire Cardiac Centre after she underwent open-heart surgery.

Lisa, who lives in Wray, near Lancaster, has a sheep and cow farm with husband, Andrew, and their two children Harry, eight, and Anne-Marie, five.

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Breeding sheep to sell at auction is something she has been doing all her life, and she typically spends 16-18 hours a day delivering lambs during lambing season. This year the farm lambed 400 sheep, resulting in 650 lambs.

Lisa, 36, decided to keep one lamb back this year to auction in aid of Heart of Gold, managed by Blue Skies Hospital Fund, to support the Lancashire Cardiac Centre.

Born at the end of March, the six-month- old Swaledale fetched more than double of that expected.

Lisa said: “I expected this lamb to sell for about £80-£120, but the first bid was £100 and she was quickly bid up to £400. I would never have expected it to sell for so much, and I think it only did because people knew it was for charity. Bentham Auction agreed to waive the commission as well.

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“When it got to £200 I started to get upset and when it reached £400 I was just overwhelmed.”

Lisa said her donation was in thanks to the care and treatment provided by the Lancashire Cardiac Centre, especially cardiothoracic surgeon Andrew Duncan.

In May she was diagnosed with Anomalous Left Coronary Artery arising from the Pulmonary Artery – a condition which means there was deoxygenated blood in her heart. The condition affects one in 300,000 – 90 per cent of whom die in their first year unless they are treated. It’s extremely rare to see it untreated in an adult, yet Lisa had no idea there was a problem until the end of last year.

Mr Duncan said he was thrilled to hear Lisa was recovering well following the surgery in July.

He added: “This is certainly an unusual way of raising money but we are extremely grateful for Lisa’s generous donation.”

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