24 Hours in A&E

40 year old Adrian is escalated from majors to Resus after colliding with a car on his bike ride to work. Adrian recently moved back to London to set up a new life for his family but at the time of the accident, his wife Lili and daughter Luna are still 1,400 miles away at their home in Montenegro. Lili always worries about him cycling in London and about him being so far away. “It was difficult for me not being there,” she explains. “I felt like I was letting him down because I wasn’t there for him.” Consultant Melissa is in charge of Resus and she is concerned Adrian may have a serious chest injury so he is sent for a full CT scan. Melissa also highlights the difficulties of being separated from loved ones and details her own experience of being in South Sudan with Medecins Sans Frontieres when her father fell ill: “It was horrific I had no phone and no internet and it took me 4 days to get home. It’s very hard when you’re far away from home.’ Whilst doctors wait for the CT report to determine the extent of his chest injuries, Adrian’s wife Lili talks about how they only dated for a year before they got married and moved to her native Montenegro where they lived for 8 years. It was only once their daughter Luna started school that they decided to move back to London. As concern grows that Adrian has a collapsed lung and may need emergency surgery, he makes a heartfelt phone call to Lili in Montenegro. A tearful Adrian tells his wife that he doesn’t want their daughter to know about the accident as he doesn’t want to upset her. Lili tells us that Luna was born on Adrian’s birthday so she was the perfect gift for him: “She’s a daddy’s girl. Daddy’s her hero.” 49 year old Steve was encouraged to go to A&E by his wife Julia when his heart rate more than doubled over the course of an hour whilst he was preparing supper. As doctors run blood tests to determine the cause of his racing heart, Brazilian Julia tells us how she was late for her own wedding and by the time she walked down the aisle, the whole congregation was drunk on caipirinhas. Julia talks about how their 15 years together have been filled with fun, laughter and two wonderful daughters but that there have also been difficulties. Whilst doctors try to determine whether Steve’s accelerated heart is connected to his recent stroke and whether he is at risk of having another, the picture is complicated by family medical history. Julia reveals that Steve’s mother died of a heart attack when she was 42 and his brother had a heart attack at 44. Whilst waiting for the blood results, Steve develops a migraine and Julia reflects on the future: “I think something will happen. I’m always thinking something is going to happen to Steve. Everything could change but I kind of put this to the back of my head.” 54 year old Graham has come to A&E after stubbing his toe trying to avoid treading on Pickles, his friend’s black cat. And he doesn’t even like cats. As Emergency Nurse Practitioner Ali examines his foot, Graham admits he is definitely accident prone having broken both wrists, both legs, his ribs four times and his nose three times. Following an x ray which confirms that he has indeed broken his toe, warehouse worker Graham explains how he lived the high-life for over 20 years, organising trips and travelling with the Royal Family of Dubai and then how, overnight, he lost it all.