Betty Edkins, a long-term volunteer with the Friends of St Mary’s Hospital café and shop, recently had her 90th birthday celebrated in style in the hospital foyer, in front patients, visitors and staff.
After blowing out candles on a cake specially made by assistant manager Pauline Armstrong, Betty said: “I feel like a VIP!”
Betty is much more than age-defying; she also refuses to give up any volunteering despite suffering 4 heart attacks and 2 strokes, and undergoing 12 operations.
Betty said:
“I started as a volunteer here in 1993, to pay back all the help the hospital had given me, and continued to give me. I will carry on doing so as long as I can, although I have now lost the sight in my right eye and the other one is getting bad too.”
Many years ago Betty had been an auxiliary nurse at St Mary’s and a Marie Curie nurse. On retiring she was involved in palliative care and was a visitor at the-then 3 Island prisons.
But Betty, who lives at Northwood, has made some concession to the march of time. Whereas she once volunteered for the Friends 4 half days a week she now works half day each Friday. She does, though, volunteer at the Earl Mountbatten Hospice every Wednesday.
Betty declared:
“I don’t feel my age – just 16 going on 17″.
Betty said her 90th is also being celebrated by her family, including her son who is travelling down from Birmingham.
