24 Hours in A&E

54 year old Michelle is airlifted to St George’s after being involved in a car crash with her husband in Surrey. Their daughter Toni had just left them when she heard about the accident “we ran over but we got pushed back as they were trying to cut my Mum out of the car. She wasn’t in a good way at all”. Michelle was given a blood transfusion at the scene and as Anaesthetist Tom prepares for her arrival he explains how serious such collisions can be “potentially the internal organs are travelling at that speed as well and suddenly stop… internal injury or bleed can be very serious”. Doctors work quickly to get Michelle to CT to ascertain the full extent of her injuries. Daughter Toni talks about her childhood “she wasn’t a strict Mum, she was quite a laid back and chilled” and how her Mum has supported her over the years. Toni describes how she became pregnant at 16 and how her Mum was there for her when her friends found out “it was scary, I would get judged by people because they were sitting their GCSEs and going onto work and college and I was having a baby.” As Doctors assess Michelle’s scans for signs of internal injuries and bleeding, Toni talks about how growing up she always knew her Mum was different but it was only when she was diagnosed with depression, anxiety and split personality disorder that they fully understood the reason, “it was like we’d lost a part of her”. Toni explains that it “was only as we got older they started opening up a bit more about the illness, she wouldn’t do half the stuff that she would before”. She describes how her Dad, Paul gave up work to become Michelle’s full time carer “my Dad jumped into my Mum’s role”. As Paul talks about his care for Michelle, he bravely says “it’s fulfilling it is, to know I can do that for her”. 41 year old Derren comes to A&E after fracturing his ankle whilst out trampolining with his 12 year old daughter Macie. Doctors are concerned that the injury may have affected the blood supply to his foot and need work quickly to realign his ankle. As he arrives in Resus, he talks of growing up as “an average street kid, chasing the girls all over the shop” but always had an undeniable bond with his Mum. Derren talks of how, as a teenager, he got in with “a lively lot” and one day accidentally set fire to the back of his Mum’s house whilst she was away on holiday in Clacton, “it gutted the whole house completely!” After realigning his ankle, doctors need to scan his foot to check whether or not the blood vessels in his foot have been permanently affected. Derren talks about how he dealt with his Mum’s death after watching her battle long-term illness and how he looks forward to making the most of life with his daughters. Retired Nurse Monica has come to A&E with chronic hip and leg pain. As Doctors try work out what’s causing her discomfort we hear about Monica’s early life in Trinidad and how her ambition brought her to the UK “I wanted to be a Nun and to be a Nun, you had to travel.” Arriving in London after a two-week boat journey, she found work as a Nurse and quickly settled in to life in the UK where she met the love of her life, Noel. Monica talks of how, as a mixed-race couple, they experienced vicious racism but didn’t let it affect their love for one another. When reflecting on what life has taught her she says “be kind, it doesn’t matter what they do to you, be kind.”