Heroes of the NHS

Watching an interview with one of our heroic #nhsdoctors on #goodmorningbritain earlier caused me to reflect. In December 2005 my 3 year old daughter contracted pneumonia. Despite IV treatment in Worcester Hospital she was deteriorating fast, developed Empyema and was rushed by ambulance to the tertiary referral unit at the #JohnRadcliffe in Oxford. Her weight loss was horrendous; we thought the worse. At the JR we were greeted by #DrAnneThompson (Consultant Paediatrician) who simply said, “don’t worry, she’s in the right place now, she’s not going to die”. Relief! Within minutes she’d inserted a tube into my daughter’s lung, through her back, and the 10-day process of draining, which lasted over Christmas, commenced. Her Mum stayed with her throughout and she slowly recovered, whilst she was so thin that visiting family were typically reduced to tears the moment they saw her; it was shocking. At the time a new JR was under construction adjacent to the old building where my daughter had been treated. I wanted to contribute, so I bought a bike, did a 100 mile charity ride and raised ￡2000. Anne Thompson had saved my daughter’s life and changed mine; I become quite a keen cyclist, improved my fitness and completed dozens of charity rides and sportives during the next 10 years or so. My daughter and I presented a cheque to Anne during the summer of 2006. I remember all the other very ill children on the ward at JR. I know there are many stories like mine, many much more serious and dramatic, and that’s why we’re all clapping for the NHS at 8.00 pm every Thursday.