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Three and a half years ago, Paul Cozens was taken to the Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother Hospital in Margate, struggling with drugs and alcohol and believing life was not worth living.
But on Friday, the hospital was the finish line for a 32-mile run that started at the William Harvey Hospital in Ashford, via the Kent and Canterbury Hospital.
Paul, who now works as a porter at the QEQM, was greeted by dozens of his friends and colleagues, including Pawel Biela, head of facilities at the site.
Pawel told him: “What an incredible feat. You have made all of us proud and shown that change is possible for everyone.
“You have shown everyone what true inspiration means.”
Paul decided to swap trollies for trainers to raise money for East Kent Hospitals Charity, after his treatment at QEQM inspired him to turn his life around.
He had been drinking more than 20 cans of beer each day, plus a bottle of rum, and using drugs to mitigate the effects of the alcohol.
But after completing a 12-week course with the Forward Trust and stopping all drugs and alcohol, he was inspired to join the 2gether Support Solutions’ portering team.
The 54 year old, who lives in Whitstable, said: “It is amazing really, to think of what my life was like then, and to look at where I am today.
“It seems unbelievable that, three and a half years after being brought here by ambulance, I get to run up the same road and be greeted by my colleagues, who seem to quite like having me on the team.
“To be able to raise money for East Kent Hospitals Charity as well makes it even more special, because I can give something back as a thank you for everything this hospital has done for me.”
Paul started his run wearing hospital pyjamas, before changing at K&C into running gear with a green t-shirt on top to represent his porter uniform. The clothing represents his change from patient to porter, and he aimed to complete it within eight hours, to represent a shift. In fact, he arrived just after 4pm, with almost an hour to spare.
Colleagues at QEQM welcomed him with a banner that said ‘Patient to Porter – well done Paul’.
He said: “I didn’t expect to see so many people, so it was quite overwhelming and I’m so grateful to everyone for their support.
“I knew it was going to be tough and the last few miles were really difficult but I had built in time to allow for that.
“It was exhausting but it was absolutely worth it and I want to say a huge thank you to everyone who has donated for their generosity.”
East Kent Hospitals Charity’s fundraising officer Hannah Harvey said: “We are so proud of Paul for competing this remarkable challenge.
“We’ve been cheering him on every step of the way and his smile has never faltered – he truly is an inspiration.
“We’re incredibly grateful he chose to take on this challenge to support our incredible staff and are looking forward to working with him to ensure all the money he raised is used for staff wellbeing – after he’s had a rest, of course!”
You can add to Paul’s fundraising at: Paul Cozens is fundraising for East Kent Hospitals Charity
