Blue Light Card: Our NHS Stories

In celebration of 74 years of the NHS, we asked our team to share their stories of what it means to them, and how the organisation has made a difference in their lives, or the lives of their loved ones over the years.

Many of us at Blue Light Card have immediate family working in the NHS or have been positively impacted by it in some way or another. It’s a big factor in why many people want to work for Blue Light Card.

Working here allows us to give back to the Blue Light community every day and say thank you for going above and beyond for us and our families.?

These are their stories:

Imogen

At the tender age of three days, it became apparent very suddenly and dramatically that our baby boy was seriously unwell. He was blue-lighted to the Leicester Royal, where shortly after arriving into Neonatal Intensive Care, the extent of his problems became clear.?Whilst there, Dr. Currie (whom I will never forget, for his kindness and compassion) explained to me that my son had been born with a rare and life-threatening heart condition and that if he were to survive, he would need emergency surgery.

The NICU team immediately arranged for him to be transported to Glenfield, where he was looked after by the incredible team in PICU and underwent 7 hours of life-saving surgery. All the while, we were supported, consoled, kept informed, listened to – and comforted (shout out to Rachel, nurse extraordinaire on the night shift).

Since then, my little boy’s had two further open-heart surgeries. He’s spent a month in intensive care; weeks in the Paediatric Cardiac Ward; has had two surgeons, three Theatre Teams, an amazing consultant (thanks Dr Bu’Lock) incredible nurses, HCAs, Play Specialists, Physiotherapists, and countless others who all played, and continue to play, an intrinsic part in getting him well.

It’s difficult to explain what the NHS means to us.?Our incredible boy is here with us and is doing brilliantly.?We are so, so grateful to everyone involved in his care.

Francesca

My predominant memory of the NHS is from when I was diagnosed with a seizure disorder in Nov 2019. I went from never really being in hospital as a patient or passing out, to suddenly being told this was my new normal (multiple seizures a day, and having regular hospital appointments at different hospitals across the country.)

As you can imagine, this was a massive change for not only me, but my family. Everyone at QMC Nottingham, from the porters and cleaners to the amazing Nurses and Doctors made sure that we were safe, comfortable, and aware of what was happening.?

As someone who’s been in multiple hospitals as a carer all over the world, nothing beats the care and compassion (and especially the tea and biscuits), that we get from the NHS.

Anonymous

Not so much a story, but rather a heartfelt thank you. Me and my family would like to thank Professor Dutani, from Great Ormand Street/University College London. He is my brother’s endocrine consultant. He was able to diagnose my brother with a rare illness after 5 years of tests and being sent to one hospital after another.

He is nothing short of a real-life angel, and we are so grateful to him.

Jo

My Dad has spent a significant portion of his life in hospital with heart disease and Leukaemia and continues to require regular treatment for both. The first time he got seriously ill was back in 2008.

He had a cardiac arrest at home, and two NHS paramedics resuscitated him, on our landing of all places, even though his heart had stopped for over twelve minutes. We’ll never forget what they did against the odds that night to keep Dad alive long enough to get to hospital. He’s been in and out of hospital ever since but has made huge strides thanks to the incredible team at QMC and City Hospital (that includes my sister, who was actually his ICU pharmacist for a time)

I am so grateful that, against all the odds, Dad's still here. I never expected that we’d be still going for walks or meeting for lunch, but here we are. It wouldn’t be possible without the teams of doctors, heart surgeons, cardiologists, nurses, pharmacists and everyone else who saved his life on more occasions than we can count.

My Dad’s story was the main reason I wanted to work at Blue Light Card and continues to be the purpose behind why I go to work every day. We are so grateful for the NHS and what it did, and continues to do, for our family.?