24 Hours in A&E

84 year old John is rushed to St George’s after losing control of his car and crashing into a road sign. His wife Gwynaeth was having a meal out with the WI when she was told the news of his accident “I was asked to go to the desk to see somebody, and the somebody was this police officer”. After bullseyeing his car windscreen, John’s blood pressure drops dangerously low and doctors declare a “Code Red,” giving him an emergency blood transfusion. Gwynaeth talks about how they met in a youth club aged just 11 and 13, where mutual friends were convinced they could predict the future “they thought we were going to get married eventually, but I said ‘no we’re just friends.’ ” It was only when John was sent away for National Service that Gwynaeth became aware of how close they really were “that’s when it really struck home, I missed him a lot more than I realised.” As doctors discover that John has a broken pelvis and will need emergency surgery, Gwynaeth talks of how she’s leant on John over their years of marriage. “I don’t think I know anyone else who I could rely on who could get me over the humps.” 66 year old Christine is brought to A&E with her husband Paul after the left side of her body collapsed whilst making her way to work at a local supermarket. Doctors suspect she’s suffered a stroke and Neurology registrar Anil is sent to Resus to assess her symptoms, “one moment you’re functioning normally and just suddenly, you can cruelly have the loss of the ability to do some things we really take for granted.” Christine is sent to CT and whilst doctors conduct further tests Christine talks about her upbringing on a farm in rural Ireland “I used to get up at 6 in the morning and go out and pull the hay, on a frosty morning your hands would be falling off you”. With no work in Ireland, she moved to London aged just 16 and was shocked when she arrived in Paddington Station to find the streets full of revellers “people were sitting on the side of the road drunk and happy, it was the next day I found out what was really going on ...England had just won the World Cup!” Worryingly, Christine’s CT scan shows no obvious sign of a stroke and doctors begin to suspect her symptoms may be the result of a tumour in her brain and admit her for further tests. Her husband Paul talks of how Christine’s strength and resilience helped him and their family through redundancy “that’s typical Chris, any problems that come up, she’s always really listened so that we get through it.” 7 year Reggie comes to A&E after hurting his arm whilst doing a cartwheel to celebrate England’s victory against Wales in the European Championships. As doctors examine his injury his Mum Hayley talks about how she always knew she wanted to be a Mum “some of my friends at school had these career plans to be journalists and doctors and dentists, no I just want to meet someone and have babies.” An X ray reveals that Reggie has broken his arm that will need emergency surgery, Hayley talks of how her own parent’s separation shaped her approach to parenting “we never really spoke about it, it was happening and we just dealt with it, like a protection thing, if you don’t speak it’s not actually going on” but is determined to be open with Reggie and his younger brother Alfie “you need to show your feelings and how much you love people, because they’re your family.”