A former patient of two local, lifesaving organisations is undertaking an extreme fundraising challenge for the second time in a bid to raise more vital funds.

In 2018, Natalie Queiroz teamed up with Midlands Air Ambulance Charity and the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham Charity for the Saving Lives Challenge. She raised a total of £10,000 to support the two charities.
 
Natalie has a deeply personal connection to both charities, as in March 2016, whilst eight months pregnant, she was attacked in Sutton Coldfield and stabbed 24 times. The advanced clinical care that she received thanks to Midlands Air Ambulance Charity’s aircrew and the trauma team at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham saved her and her unborn daughter’s lives.
 
Four years on and Natalie is now taking on her second challenge in aid of the two charities. On Friday 24th July 2020, Natalie, along with fiancé Simon Lyttle, will be walking from Midlands Air Ambulance Charity’s RAF Cosford airbase to the scene of her attack in Sutton Coldfield and then on to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham. The 37-mile route will replicate the journey that the Midlands Air Ambulance RAF Cosford aircraft made on the day of Natalie’s incident. Natalie said:

“Neither I nor my daughter would be alive today if it were not for the incredible work of Midlands Air Ambulance Charity and the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham.

"Taking on the Saving Lives Challenge in 2018 was amazing and it was fantastic to be able to collaborate with these two lifesaving institutions and raise vital funds to support them and their work.
 
“This year I want to raise more money for both of these incredible charities and I’d love if people virtually joined me on the challenge by taking on a walk on the same day.”
 
To help support Natalie’s Saving Lives Challenge 2.0, you can make a donation at savingliveschallenge.org. All monies raised will be split equally between the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham Charity and Midlands Air Ambulance Charity. Emma Gray, fundraising and marketing director for Midlands Air Ambulance Charity, added:

“Undertaking this kind of challenge, especially during the current climate, is commendable. We are very thankful for people like Natalie, who have gone through great adversity, but still go above and beyond to help us raise the funds the charity needs to continue saving lives.
 
“We often find that when our service touches people’s lives, they understand the importance of the critical pre-hospital care that our clinical teams provide on scene, and the rapid transit via our helicopter which has saved thousands of lives over the last 29 years.”
 
Natalie’s Saving Lives Challenge has been kindly sponsored by Bootcamp Media, Reactive Recruitment, The Gracechurch Shopping Centre and GMS Group.
 
To find out more about Midlands Air Ambulance Charity, you can visit their website at midlandsairambulance.com and follow the organisation on social media.
 
To find out more about the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham Charity, visit hospitalcharity.org.