Gemma Atkinson has shared what she says is a 'spooky' yet 'wonderful' story as she spent some of her weekend supporting a cause close to her heart. Following an appearance at the Manchester Wellbeing Festival, the Bury-born star got dressed up to host a charity ball.
She and her Hits Radio co-host Mike Toolan acted as hosts for the evening which is organized every year by the Rigby family in aid of the Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital. Gemma, 36, was supported at the event by her childhood friends as guests tried to raise as much money as possible for the worthy cause.
Taking to Instagram after the charity event, Gemma shared the family's story alongside a series of pictures. "An honour to host such a wonderful night for the @rmchcharity. This event is put on yearly by The Rigby family. Their story is remarkable," the former Emmerdale and Hollyoaks star shared with her millions of followers.
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Detailing the inspirational story, she said: "Out for a walk on Easter Sunday 2014 when their daughter Danielle was hit by a car that mounted the pavement. She was 15. She suffered Severe head trauma and bleeds on her brain & needed help urgently. Sarah, Danielle’s mum performed CPR on her until help arrived. Being a mum myself I cannot begin to imagine how that felt for her."
Gemma explained Danielle's journey to the hospital where she received months of care and treatment. Luckily, she recovered but had to learn how to walk, talk and eat again. But, in a positive twist, Gemma revealed that Danielle is now a nurse at the very hospital that helped save her.
"Her family decided to fundraise so that there could be a helipad at the hospital for anyone else who needs urgent care," Gemma continued. "So they can get there asap and not have to wait like Danielle did. They succeeded! The landing pad was built and it’s operating today.
"Because of them they have made a huge difference to so many people. They continue to hold charity events and auctions all for the @rmchcharity A hospital I pray I never need to use, but if I do, i know we’ll be in the best hands when it comes to care. Thank you to the Rigby family & to everyone who donated last night. Small acts of kindness and generosity make such a difference."
But Gemma did suffer her own family scare and shared with her loyal fans how she believes her late father, David, 'swapped places' with her nephew who almost died as a baby. "The reason I'm involved with the Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital is a quite spooky story actually.
"My nephew, Tyler, he's absolutely fine now. Gorgeous, really handsome... just a beautiful lad. When he was a tiny baby he had meningitis and was really poorly. He was in the intensive care, all puffed up like fish, he was yellow and we were told he probably wasn't going to make it.
The mum-of-one shared how they all had to go to the hospital to say their goodbyes "And while we were up saying our goodbyes, my dad came with us and my dad genuinely said, 'I'm not religious, I don't know what I believe in but if there is anything, swap places. I've had a great life. I'm an older man, I'll swap with him.'"
She went on to say how they told him not to be saying 'things like that' but after that, Tyler started to make an incredible recovery. While Gemma said it was 'bizarre', tragically, her dad suffered a heart attack a matter of months later and died. "So, Tyler looks the spitting image of my dad, it's weird," the actress said. "We always say my dad swapped places with Tyler."
Captioning the video to her Instagram Story, Gemma wrote: "I genuinely believe dad left this earth to allow my sister's baby to recover. They always say 'one out one in' and believing that's why he passed, for me, makes it acceptable. Tyler is his double."
Back in April Gemma paid an emotional tribute to her dad on the 20th anniversary of his death. Her father, David, died in 2002 from a heart attack when she was 17. The presenter has previously spoken about how her dad's colleague found him hunched over his desk, struggling to breathe or move, as he was having a heart attack.
Gemma told Steph's Packed Lunch in June last year that within a few days they were told her dad was OK and put it down to stress and told him to slow down. But as they prepared for him to come home, the hospital called and said David had a massive heart attack in his sleep and sadly passed away.
