Gill Wheeldon - Retired | Fundraising Manager

Where do we begin…

I qualified as a Nursery Nurse in 1976 and worked in various areas, including the former Princess Mary Maternity Hospital and the local education authority. In 1987, I took up a position in Paediatrics at Newcastle General Hospital, and in 1988, the first “Bubble Baby” was referred to the children’s ward (which later developed into the Children’s Bone Marrow Transplant Unit). In 1992, I was involved in setting up the Bubble Foundation UK, and due to its success, in 1997, I decided to split my time equally between fundraising and working on the ward as a Nursery Nurse on the Children’s BMT Unit. In 2001, I was appointed as a full-time Fundraising Manager and traveled all over the UK and Ireland, raising awareness and funds for the Foundation.

By the time I retired in 2024, I had raised £4 million.