If ever I want to be reminded of why I work for this Charity, supporting two specialist hospitals, I just need to pause as I walk past our ‘donor trees’. These are carefully designed trees on which hang ‘leaves’ which have messages printed on them. 

These messages can be very simple – sometimes just Thank you. Other times they express gratitude for a particular person, or a Ward, or a group of people, especially nurses. And they can carry very personal messages; thank you for giving me my life back or thank you for caring for my Dad at the end of his life. 

Patients or friends and families of patients buy these leaves which then go on display as a simple but heartfelt way of saying thank you. Like these messages, we at the Charity never forget that we are part of something truly special here, that miracles can happen and lives made better. Thank you to everyone who buys a leaf, whether it's for one year or perhaps for three years. 

We are exploring putting up a special tree in our (almost) new intensive care unit at Harefield and since this one will be new and outside, it may look a bit different. 

To find out more about these wonderful trees, pop by one of our Charity Hubs or click here. 

Along with our leaves, our patients, their families, friends and other supporters love our rabbits! It’s impossible not to love them! Of course, you can buy these too, online or in person at the Charity Hub at either hospital.