“People thought I would run out of steam, but it’s my mum who drives me to carry on†-
World Make a Difference day in October celebrated individuals that have made a difference at Portsmouth Hospitals - welcome Mick Lyons…
Having now reached his 71st birthday, which ties in with his 30th year as a champion fundraiser, Mick Lyons, founder of The Rocky Appeal, talks about his overwhelming past victories in fundraising, raising over £13 million for PHT.
It all began when Mick was working as a policeman in Portsmouth Police Division in 1981 and his parents were living on the Isle of Wight. Mick started to notice a decline in his mother’s health and following six months of trailing in-and-out of the doctor’s surgery for a diagnosis, it was revealed that Grace Lyons had contracted bowel cancer, and due to the delayed diagnosis it had spread across her entire body.
Grace sadly passed away a month after diagnosis weighing just three stone; a fact which infuriates Mick who believes that if a CAT scanner had been used to detect the disease sooner, his mother’s life could have been saved.
Grace’s death motivated Mick on his journey of over 30 years of champion fundraising for Queen Alexandra Hospital
After 11 months of pleading to PHT and after two-and-a-half years of fundraising, QA was able to afford the CAT scanner at a cost of £1million.
Mick says inspiringly, “once I get my teeth into something, I stick with it. I was overwhelmed with emotion when the hospital decided to name the scanner after my late mother.†Mick was then awarded the British Empire Medal by Hampshire Constabulary for his fundraising efforts for both the Police Dependants Trust and QA. As a result of this tremendous triumph, it set the bar high for PHT.
Fundraising is a joint involvement with the aid of the general public, and Mick cannot be thankful enough to the many people who have helped him raise the incredible £12 million that he has reached today.
Fundraisers for The Rocky Appeal are awarded with a shield if they reach a target of £1,000 which is presented to them as a memento and keepsake for their efforts in raising this amount of money. To date 650 shields have been presented. The idea being that these are issued, often with publicity to raise the awareness of the Rocky Appeal.
Following Mick’s success with non-stop fundraising over 30 years, further lifesaving equipment has been provided for QA and St Mary’s Hospital. Mick clearly has a passion for his local hospitals and wishes to raise as much money as possible to provide equipment that the hospitals would not normally have. To date Mick has raised funds for many equipment projects.
At the age of 71 Mick should lean back and settle into retirement, reflecting on his overwhelming achievements over the years. Instead he has set himself another goal. This time The Rocky Appeal hopes to raise £2.5 million towards the da Vinci Robot, which will be for robotic digital keyhole surgery. This offers countless benefits, including a quicker recovery than traditional methods, less pain and infection, less invasive, and improved precision and efficiency, making QA one of the few hospitals in the country to offer this service. Mick says it’s all these benefits that will help so many patients in the future, which keeps him going.
The trust would like to wish Mick the best of luck in achieving his goals for PHT, and would like to thank everyone that has been involved with The Rocky Appeal.
If you would like to speak to Mick please get in touch with Laura on: 023 9282 6813 laura.pauley@porthosp.nhs.uk