84-year-old explorer climbs highest peak in Cornwall following his battle against Covid
Robin Hanbury-Tenison has set a goal to raise £100,000 to fund hospital gardens in the South West
A Cornish explorer has climbed the highest peak in Cornwall following his battle against COVID-19.
Robin Hanbury-Tenison spent seven weeks in intensive care at Derriford Hospital after testing positive for the virus – for five of those weeks he was in an induced coma.
The 84-year-old’s family were told to prepare for the worst, as his chance of survival was less than 5%.
But just five months later, on a wet and windy day, he climbed Cornwall’s tallest peak, determined to plant a Cornish flag at the top:
"I was just about able to get up to the top of Brown Willy, which is not all that high but it’s a bit of a pull for somebody of my age.
"But it worked and we’re well on the way to getting £100,000."
Robin said that Derriford’s rehabilitation garden really made a difference in his recovery journey and thinks that every hospital should have one.
He now wants to ensure that as many patients as possible can experience ‘the healing powers of fresh air and nature’ – so he is raising money to create more ICU rehabilitation gardens.
Robin’s goal is to raise £100,000 to help Cornwall’s Treliske Hospital and Derriford Hospital.
He has now successfully passed the half-way point in his fundraising goal, but he’s determined to finish what he started:
"The response has been extraordinary. It's not the whole answer but it's a huge part of the therapy to getting better. I just would love to see it becoming mainstream that all hospitals have healing gardens."
You can find Robin’s Go Fund Me here.