Jack Besford

Jack is a very special person who willingly gives of his time whenever and wherever he possibly can. 12 years ago he suffered a heart attack a few days after his wifes funeral. He made an excellent recovery and despite the grief that he was suffering he selflessly offered to become a volunteer at the local hospital within the cardiac rehabilitation department. Apart from being our valued tea-lad, he serves as an inspiration to those who have recently had a cardiac event. He not only offers empathy to fellow sufferers, raises their spirits with his humour and singing and is a keen participant in the exercise component of the outpatient rehabilitation process, thereby providing a worthy role model, and testimony to the benefits of exercise and a healthy lifestyle, being proof that there is life after a heart attack and dispelling the myths surrounding heart disease. Many of the patients in the cardiac rehab class are of a similar age or even much younger than himself. Although short in stature he is stout of heart not only in the physical sense but in the caring sense too. Jack attends most days as an unpaid volunteer to help us out and his support is invaluable. Even before he had a heart attack he became an active member of the local British Heart Foundation group, often giving up his time to raise funds in the campaign against heart disease. When the time comes for him to retire from our service at cardiac rehab (he is 74 now) his trainers will be hard ones to fill.