Paramedic raises £2339 for Macmillan Centre at Borders General Hospital

Sandra Allan, 50, and 14 of her colleagues from Motherwell Ambulance Station were sponsored to cycle the 55-mile challenge from Glasgow to Edinburgh in September last year.

Sandra said: “The cycle was a bit of a nightmare. I had been doing practise runs of around 30 miles but there were a lot more hills than I was expecting.”

She added: “At one point there were a few carpet tacks thrown on the road as well which led to a few punctures on route, but on the plus side it was a lovely day weather wise.”

The Macmillan Centre in Melrose is a facility very close to home for Sandra as her mother, Mary Jappy, has been receiving treatment for myeloma since 2008.

Although now in recession. Mary, 79, from Peebles, has received three cycles of chemotherapy at The Macmillan Centre.

She said: “The service I have received from the centre and the Macmillan nurses has been excellent and I know how much they will appreciate the donation.”

Mary and Sandra know exactly how hard the nurses work as they have both worked as a nurse in the Borders.

Mary served as a nurse from the 1950s at Peel Hospital near Caddonfoot and Sandra spent four years working as a nurse at Borders General Hospital before training to be a paramedic.

Claire Irvine, CISS manager at The Macmillan Centre said: “We are always grateful of any donation and the money will be put towards ensuring future patients get the best treatment for them and are as comfortable as possible.”

The money raised by Sandra will stay in the unit and help improve the lives of people affected by cancer in the Borders.

It will go towards cancer and palliative care patients to improve their environment, the garden area around the centre and also for extra resources.