A retired teacher from Berkhamsted was delighted to win the National Brain Appeal’s (NBA) 2024 Christmas card competition.
Catherine Archer, 71, created a card that features a robin set against a vibrant backdrop of flowers. The card has become the charity’s bestseller, with more than 500 packs of 10 having been snapped up at the time of writing.
Catherine was particularly keen to support the NBA as the charity raises funds for the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery in London, where she had surgery to remove a spinal tumour in 2000.
Catherine said: “I had endured 12 years of dreadful pain before the tumour was discovered. It started after my son Luke was born. When I was eventually sent for an MRI scan, they found a large tumour.
“I was a patient of Mr Michael Powell’s, and I’m eternally grateful to him and the hospital because as well as the pain, I knew I was losing mobility.
“I was warned that, if it went wrong, I would probably not be walking afterwards, but he did an amazing job. I don’t have many heroes, but he’s my top one.”
Catherine, who has lived in Berkhamsted for 18 years, likes to paint every day, and she put her talent to good use to raise money for the charity.
She said: “I just thought it was a nice way of paying back the hospital and saying thank you and using my art to do so.”
You can buy Catherine’s bestselling robin card at www.shorturl.at/WqKLU
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