Blog Articles
Recognising those who inspired us to be who we are
I can’t believe that we are only a few days away from the first year anniversary of the first confirmed COVID-19 case...
Re-evaluating the power of touch
The conversation was not one I was unfamiliar with. Discussing a serious diagnosis, a worrying test result, or a life...
Remembering that kindness works both ways
When my husband was called up urgently in the evening by a consultant haematologist to come into the acute assessment...
The Covid Diaries 8
Saturday 23rd May 2020 I’ve lost count of the number of days and weeks Covid-19 has been forefront in my mind. There have been certain periods, to be honest, when virtually every waking moment, and more beside, has been occupied by thoughts and activities surrounding...
Re-living harrowing moments
The guttural howl could be heard at the other end of the corridor. It went on and on, uncontrollable, penetrating the core of all who heard it. Inside the room the noise was suffocating. There was barely any space anyway, an extended family packed into an area far too...
The Covid Diaries 6
Saturday 9th May 2020 Our 1930s house has had no work done on it in the 25 years we have lived there, and not much prior to that. I have lived with a stained avocado bath suite which nothing would clean, a shower that hasn’t worked for decades and a vile and poorly...
The Covid Diaries 4
Saturday April 25th 2020 I once heard my Mum say, “we will get through this.” In the current situation of the Coronavirus, I think this saying matters very much. This story is written by me, a 10 year old child, living through this virus in the UK. My Mum...
Reconstructing a different life 4
Part 4: Resumption My parents in law had decided that my wife, son and I deserved a holiday. They were taking us to Portugal for a fortnight in September. I was delighted - something to look forward to. I was reliant on the wheel chair or crutches but I had built up...
Reconstructing a different life 3
Part 3: The garden That evening I was taken back to theatre to have an external fixator fitted to the femur. The healing process had to start again. Fortunately the left leg fractures were healing well. I was now well enough to eat. I was getting more used to...
The Covid Diaries 3
Saturday 18th April 2020 This is all total madness! Wherever I look, I see the denial of the obvious. At my trust, we have the advice that Public Health England know best – their PPE advice is sufficient. But experience says the opposite. I saw a patient, elderly, in...
Reconstructing a different life 2
Part 2: Terrified I was ventilated for 10 days. My first recollection after my “near death experience” was post extubation. I remember seeing my wife and mother in law and saying, “Hello mum. What are you doing here?” The next few days blur into one partly because I...
Reconstructing a different life 1
Part 1: a moment in time In March 1987 my life changed forever, one morning on my way to work. Everything that happened before that day is now categorised in my mind as “before accident.” Statistically I should never have survived, and I certainly never...