Gem’s Crew ready to get Pretty Muddy

A team of nurses has raised almost £3,000 ahead of a charity run they are taking part in later this month.

The Teesdale District Nursing team, who are based at Richardson Hospital, Barnard Castle, are taking part in the Pretty Muddy event on Saturday, June 27, in memory of their much-loved colleague Gemma Hunter, who died last year.

While the cause is serious, the event will be very much a “fun run” with the nurses planning to take part dressed in 90s rave outfits, including luminous tops and leg-warmers.

The Sunderland Pretty Muddy 5k is at Herrington Park. The idea is for competitors to climb, crawl and slide around the course – and get as muddy as possible while raising money for Cancer Research.

Gemma was a hugely-popular district nursing sister from Gainford. She is survived by her husband Dave and her parents Gordon and Jean Grieve, all of whom plan to travel north to watch the Pretty Muddy 5k.

“Gemma was one of those people who kept us all going – mostly through her talent for making us laugh at completely inappropriate moments,” said Sandra Smyth, district nurse team lead.

“She was a force of nature, the kind of person you could hear before you saw, and the kind of personality you don’t replace… unless you can find someone with the same laugh the same chaos, and amazing sense of humour.

“So, we’re doing this event in her honour – loudly, proudly and with the kind of unfiltered energy she’d expect from us.

“We’ll laugh, we’ll complain, we’ll probably embarrass ourselves, and she would absolutely love that; slightly unhinged, definitely determined and fuelled by the memory of a laugh we’ll never forget.”

Gemma started work with County Durham and Darlington NHS Trust as a healthcare assistant and worked her way up to district nurse, working in Teesdale.

Her colleagues have called themselves Gem’s Teesdale Crew and Natalie Foster is one of the nurses who’s been preparing for the run.

“We lost our dear friend and colleague Gemma in October to cancer and we are running this event in her memory and to raise awareness for a great cause,” she said.

“Our target was to raise £900 and we’ve already raised more than £2,800.

“We have been training together since we had the idea in January,” added Natalie.

“Also, we wanted to get fit and we’ve already taken part in the Barnard Castle parkrun. It’s been great for team building and bringing us together.”

There’s still time to sponsor Gem’s Teesdale Crew by either making a donation at the front desk at Richardson Hospital, by visiting the Friends of Richardson Hospital Facebook page or via fundraise.cancerresearchuk.org/team/gems-teesdale-crew