The Operating Theatre Journal - Journal - Page 24
A special commemorative event held in memory of a woman
from Blaenavon raised nearly £5k to erect two memorial
benches in her favourite spots across the Valleys.
Jessica Jones passed away on July 15, 2022, at the age of just 26.
“Thanks to everyone who came
on the day to help set up, you
made the night go smoothly so
thank you! Thank you to Lyndsey
Fryer for making 100 cheesecakes
single handily a day before!
“Thank you to all the businesses
that kindly donated endless
prizes, vouchers, goods, and
services,
I
am
absolutely
astounded by the generosity.
Thank you to everyone from the
bottom of my heart.”
(Image: Paul Phillips / family photo)
The event, known as JessFest,
was hosted by her colleagues at
the Grange University Hospital
theatre department, where she
had worked as an operating
department practitioner.
In Jess’ memory, the team plans
to install two bespoke benches,
one in the hospital gardens, and
another in Garn Lakes, one of her
favourite places in the world.
The event included a live band,
the lead singer of which was a
cousin of Ms Jones, entertainment
and a raf昀氀e ticket prize drawer,
with prizes donated by businesses
from her hometown of Blaenavon.
Prizes included three signed
sporting jerseys, a child’s electric
car, and a seven-night stay in a
luxury condo in Miami.
Through event ticket sales, raf昀氀e
ticket sales and the continued
generosity of the Blaenavon
community and local businesses,
the 昀椀nal total raised was
£4,913.53.
One of the organisers, Lynsey
Jenkins, said the support and
generosity of the community was
“incredible”.
She said: “I can’t begin to thank
everyone for their efforts to make
this possible. Special thanks to
the boss man Paul Phillips for his
absolute dedication to this for the
last few months.
“My girls, Nova Johnson, Sadie
Gauntlett, Jessica Scurr, and
Mary O’Wallace, you absolutely
smashed it, thank you so much for
all that you’ve done.
As part of the celebration, Ms
Jones’ family were in attendance,
and her mother Tracey Jones gave
a heartfelt speech in memory of
her beloved daughter.
Mrs Jones said: “I’m not sure
Jess would have been keen on
being the centre of attention,
but I know that she would have
absolutely loved and appreciated
the sentiment and would have
thought the theme was amazing,
and I de昀椀nitely know she would
have been nervous about her
family mixing with her colleagues
but I promise you we are more
akin to the Simpsons and not the
Manson’s!
“When it comes to Jess even
though I know how I feel, I can
never seem to 昀椀nd the words. I
could stand here and tell you how
beautiful and vibrant she was and
how she loved singing, dancing,
and eating.
“Every time I recall a memory of
her I’m able to feel exactly how I
felt in that moment.”
JUNE Medical’s Galaxy II® self-retaining
surgical retractor receives MDR
certi昀椀cation for its high quality and safety
JUNE Medical is proud to announce that its Galaxy II® self-retaining
surgical retractor has received Medical Device Regulation (MDR –
Regulation (EU) 2017/745) certi昀椀cation from BSI Group for its use in
the European Union. This accreditation is testament to the value
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The game-changing Galaxy II retractor’s self-retaining cam lock system
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Angela Spang, founder and owner of JUNE Medical, commented:
“Receiving MDR certi昀椀cation for the Galaxy II self-retaining retractor
is an exciting development for JUNE Medical in our pursuit to
revolutionise surgical comfort. MDR certi昀椀cation requires a high
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surgeons across the world to unlock the full potential of the Galaxy
II.”
The Galaxy II is currently being sold in 36 countries across Europe and
the US, where it is improving the quality of surgeries for patients.
Professor Bijayendra Singh, Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon Medway
NHS Foundation Trust, UK, explained his experience: “As surgeons,
we always strive to improve outcomes for our patients. For me, that
involves improving every aspect of my procedure, and one important
part is access. I can’t have too many assistants in hand surgery as
they are in the way of me operating. Using the Galaxy II self-retaining
retractor gives me better access and allows me to 昀椀nish the procedure
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In her speech, she recalled her
favourite memories of daughter,
be that her TikTok videos, her
funny voice messages, her love for
animals – to the point where she
had been nicknamed the family’s
own Dr Doolittle or her stubborn,
feisty but vibrant personality.
The family and her colleagues
have decided that any money left
over from the planned memorial
benches will go to a select group
of charitable causes that were
close to Ms Jones’ heart.
Source: South Wales Argus – Sallie Phillips
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