A SINGER who battled septicaemia and kidney failure is putting on a special performance to raise money for the hospital that saved her life.

Jackie Kay spent two months in hospital and believes she would have died, had it not been for the excellent care given to her by doctors and nurses at the Royal Bolton Hospital.

The grandmother, who had swelling in her brain and was in intensive care for several weeks, has been told by doctors that she is lucky to be alive.

She was rushed into hospital in May last year and said she had “no idea where she was” for the first few weeks.

Mrs Kay was moved to intensive care in Salford Royal Hospital, before moving back to the Royal Bolton Hospital.

Now, to say thanks for her treatment, Mrs Kay is organising a choir performance and wants to raise money to pay for life-saving equipment at the hospital.

Mrs Kay, from Affetside, Bury, is chairman of the Affetside Choir and on March 15, will lead a performance at Tottington Road Methodist Church, in Harwood.

The 69-year-old has been involved in amateur dramatic societies and choirs throughout her life and has performed with various theatre groups across the region.

She is President of Whitefield Amateur Dramatics and is a member of the National Operatic and Dramatic Association (NODA) and writes theatre reviews for its website.

Mrs Kay explained: “I was thanking the doctor in Salford and he said I think it is Bolton you should be thanking, they did most of the work and caught all this in time.

“My GP came to see me after I had been in hospital and she asked me if I realised how few people survived what I had. I can’t praise the doctors in Bolton enough. They have kept me here, they were brilliant.

“When I was in hospital they kept saying to me “give us a song” and I said I didn’t feel well enough. I said when I came out of hospital I would put on a concert.”

Concert tickets cost £5 and are available by calling 01204 852 410 or 01204 884807.