A Manchester student paediatric nurse has won a national contest to find a Quiet Hero following her courageous battle with brain cancer and efforts to help others.

After collapsing and a delayed diagnosis Claudia Laird, 25, had emergency neurosurgery for a brain tumour. Through sheer determination and just six weeks later, she had raised nearly £2,000 for the Astrocytoma Brain Fund and her local hospice where she was being treated.

The Quiet Hero competition was organised by www.meltedinside.com – an artisan food and drink online marketplace - to celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. The winner was chosen through a combination of judging and votes on Melted Inside’s social media pages. You can hear more about Claudia and the other finalists here.

Claudia, who grew up in Burnley, has won a MeltedInside.com gift voucher to the value of £200 and £200 cash. Her mother Lynda who nominated Claudia has won a £100 MeltedInside.com gift voucher as a thank you for her efforts.

After winning Claudia said: “I just want to say thank you so much for the award, I am just so taken back and appreciative for your kindness at MeltedInside.com and for the votes from everyone who voted. This means so much to me after such a tough year I’ve endured.

“All I want to do now is raise awareness of what happened to me so that it doesn’t happen to others and they get diagnosed quickly. We need more awareness of the symptoms for patients, family and medical staff.  I also want to continue raising money for brain cancer research as only 1 percent of funding goes towards brain cancer research. To help with this I am joining The Brain Tumour Charity as an ambassador and will be assisting with new campaigns in the future.”

Claudia returned from travelling in Australia and South Africa just before Covid 19 and started working long shifts for test and trace and got accepted for a children’s nursing degree at Manchester University. She was working in the children’s cancer ward in December when she started getting dizziness, head pain and blurred vision. After going back and forth to her GP and A&E three times, collapsing and not getting a diagnosis she persisted. Finally, on the 18th January 2022 a brain scan diagnosed a 5x7 cm brain tumour which shook her family’s world. Emergency neurosurgery followed the next day and Claudia came home two days later even though she had a cut the length of her head. Claudia managed to get back to university after two weeks.

And six weeks later Claudia had raised £1,400 for the astrocytoma brain fund and £500 for her local hospice by walking more than 10,000 steps a day. Claudia was back on the wards in April and has been offered a job in her last ward when she qualifies.

Her mother Lynda said: “Claudia is determined to raise awareness and funding for brain tumours and has made such a difference already with her social media posts helping others and her money raised and the impact she will have helping the local community and health trust could save lives. She has been determined and her recovery has been phenomenal due to her focus and bravery.”

MeltedInside.com founder Candy Bowles added: “To me Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II is the perfect example of a quiet, unsung hero. She goes about her business with quiet humility and integrity and has done so much for her country and the world. I wanted to celebrate her Platinum Jubilee by recognising and rewarding someone who has also contributed selflessly to their community. Claudia is an inspiring winner and we are delighted to be able to show appreciation for her incredible efforts and determination.

“We are also humbled by the three amazing runners-up: Lee Minton, Lizzie Marshall and Laura Bryant. Lee was a rock for his wife Karen when the family was going through a very rough patch; Laura has spent all her life looking after others both at work as a nurse and her family and Lizzie, who created the One Year No Free group, gave many people hope and a new lease of life.

“Another reason why the Quiet Hero initiative chimed with me and Melted Inside is that I consider all of our artisan food and drink makers to be quiet heros in their own way. They make a lot of sacrifices and work all hours to produce their many amazing products with passion and enormous commitment.”

Meltedinside.com was established and designed to share the love of what artisan food makers do every day and the love they put into creating delicious products for shoppers looking to buy real food from real people. If you are an artisan food or drink maker and interested in joining MeltedInside.com please email artisanteam@meltedinside.com  

MeltedInside.com is a member of the Good Market community - a curated online marketplace that makes it easier to find and connect with social enterprises, responsible businesses and changemakers who are creating a better world.

Melted Inside was the Best Rural Retail Business of the East Region of the Rural Business Awards 2021.

ENDS

For more information, interviews, images or if you would like to review one of Melted Inside’s products please contact Suzi Christie Suzi@blueberry-pr.co.uk  07590 591140