Charity founder Corinne Hutton offers building to NHS that saved her life
- Published
Corinne Hutton praised NHS "heroes" who save her life before she had a double hand transplant
A charity founder who "owes her life" to the NHS has offered her headquarters as a relief centre for sick patients.
Corinne Hutton, from Lochwinnoch in Renfrewshire, lost her hands and feet in 2013 after suffering acute pneumonia and sepsis.
Last year, she became the first Scot to receive a double hand transplant.
Ms Hutton founded the charity Finding Your Feet which supports people affected by amputation.
She has written to First Minister Nicola Sturgeon praising NHS "heroes" who are combating the effects of coronavirus.
It comes amid growing concerns over whether the health service will cope with a surge in virus patients amid a shortage of life-saving equipment.
She said: "I owe my life to the NHS. I am also privileged to work closely with the NHS though my charity, Finding Your Feet.
"We meet many who depend on the service daily. The staff from top to bottom are heroes amongst us.
"Therefore, as a gesture in this difficult period, Finding Your Feet would like to offer our charity premises to the NHS as a support site for health care during the fight against Covid-19."
Allow Twitter content?
This article contains content provided by Twitter. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read Twitter’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’.
The charity is based at St James House in Paisley, which Ms Hutton highlights is not far from the Royal Alexandra Hospital.
She said the building could be "easily adapted" to suit many purposes and would "clear out quickly".
She added: "Our landlord has given us authority to offer the use and we could even offer up our staff to help if that would be of benefit. In short, anything we can do, we will.
"We are all having to adapt to these new circumstances in the best way we can. I feel it's best to do it together.
"Please thank the NHS staff for all they do for us, past and present, and pass on our gratitude for this testing time especially."
Corinne Hutton has achieved remarkable things after recovering from sepsis
Ms Hutton had a 5% chance of survival before doctors amputated her four limbs seven years ago.
The remarkable Scot not only recovered but walked a mile through Glasgow city centre on prosthetic legs months later, in a bid to raise awareness of the charity she had set up to help other amputees.
She has campaigned for sepsis awareness and the need for limb donors as well as on behalf of amputees across the country.
Her personal achievements include becoming the first female quadruple amputee to summit Ben Nevis and to climb Mount Kilimanjaro.
Corinne Hutton says being able to do the smallest of things, like unlocking the door or holding her son's hand, are "massive".
- Published30 December 2019
