Local businessman makes and donates thousands of visors in memory of father
Driven by the loss of his father, a local businessman has made and donated thousands of visors to UHDB in his memory.
Carl Woods, who owns small hobby business making craft accessories, 3DFunPrintz, recently lost his father following a battle with cancer and wanted to repay the kindness shown to his Dad by staff at Royal Derby Hospital:
“My Dad had two long stays in Intensive Care Unit at Royal Derby Hospital and thanks to the amazing skills and care of the medical teams, it let me have an extra three years with him. Unfortunately he recently lost his battle but I made it clear that I wanted to continue supplying visors to the hospital.
“3DFunPrintz is a niche hobby business - I own eight 3D printers which are mainly for hobby use and I also make accessories for digital craft cutting machines. I started manufacturing visors mid-March initially making a batch of 1,000.
“My employer became aware of what I was doing and along with a donation from them as well as from my colleagues, friends and family I was able to manufacture a further 2,000 visors.
“It is an absolute pleasure to be able to repay a little of the kindness the staff at Royal Derby showed Dad. I’ve also been able to help other local healthcare providers too.”
Nick Chambers, Procurement Manager, says “Carl was one of the first local people to offer help. He showed great ingenuity in the product he offered and worked tirelessly to get us the highest volume he could possibly make during what was a difficult time personally. His support has been invaluable to us.”
Mark Cannell, Clinical Specialist and Equipment Library Manager, responsible for assessing clinical suitability of products says “The fact that businesses such as 3DFunPrintz have gone out their way and done something different to support us during this time is brilliant. They are putting themselves out there, finding solutions to our problems and actually making products which are really meaningful to us.
"It’s a bit like somebody making a cake for your birthday rather than buying one – it means something more and makes a difference. Thank you.”
Caption: Thomas Upfold, Emergency Nurse Practitioner, wearing a visor produced by 3DFunPrintz