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| The day the NHS saved my life: rescuing a kitten nearly killed me | |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| I was diagnosed with asthma when I was five. For most of my life, it never gave me much trouble. As I got older, it became gradually more volatile, something I learned to cope with. | I was diagnosed with asthma when I was five. For most of my life, it never gave me much trouble. As I got older, it became gradually more volatile, something I learned to cope with. |
| In October 2008 we took in a kitten that needed a home. Our previous cat had recently died and although I had a cat allergy I had been fine around it. Everything seemed OK for the first week, but, in a matter of 24 hours, I took a turn for the worse. | In October 2008 we took in a kitten that needed a home. Our previous cat had recently died and although I had a cat allergy I had been fine around it. Everything seemed OK for the first week, but, in a matter of 24 hours, I took a turn for the worse. |
| I came back from work and was having difficulty breathing. Planning to get away from the house for a bit, I decided to go out. I only managed to stagger to the car and get in. That’s when I realised I was in no state to be driving or even be on my own. I needed to get to hospital. | I came back from work and was having difficulty breathing. Planning to get away from the house for a bit, I decided to go out. I only managed to stagger to the car and get in. That’s when I realised I was in no state to be driving or even be on my own. I needed to get to hospital. |
| I tried to get back to the house but collapsed at the door, out of energy. The six-metre walk from the car had been too much. I managed to knock on the bottom of the door and Becca, my wife, opened it. Realising the seriousness of the situation, she got me to the car and started towards Royal Bolton hospital, which is about 15 minutes away. | I tried to get back to the house but collapsed at the door, out of energy. The six-metre walk from the car had been too much. I managed to knock on the bottom of the door and Becca, my wife, opened it. Realising the seriousness of the situation, she got me to the car and started towards Royal Bolton hospital, which is about 15 minutes away. |
| Exacerbated by panic, my condition had worsened and I was struggling to get any breath. I remember thinking my children were going to lose their dad. The hospital was still a long way away. | Exacerbated by panic, my condition had worsened and I was struggling to get any breath. I remember thinking my children were going to lose their dad. The hospital was still a long way away. |
| At that point, Becca stopped at some traffic lights on the dual carriageway. In a twist of luck, an ambulance stopped in the lane next to us. She jumped out of the car and explained the situation to the ambulance driver. | At that point, Becca stopped at some traffic lights on the dual carriageway. In a twist of luck, an ambulance stopped in the lane next to us. She jumped out of the car and explained the situation to the ambulance driver. |
| They got to work immediately. A paramedic stuck his head in the car and gave me some oxygen. I can’t describe the physical and psychological relief. They then helped me into the back of the ambulance and drove to a safer spot to give me a nebuliser, which is a way of delivering a mist of potent medication into the lungs of someone who hasn’t got enough breath to inhale. | They got to work immediately. A paramedic stuck his head in the car and gave me some oxygen. I can’t describe the physical and psychological relief. They then helped me into the back of the ambulance and drove to a safer spot to give me a nebuliser, which is a way of delivering a mist of potent medication into the lungs of someone who hasn’t got enough breath to inhale. |
| When we arrived at the hospital, they took me in on a wheelchair and made sure I was seen immediately. I was injected with steroids and kept in until the oxygen levels in my blood returned to normal. | When we arrived at the hospital, they took me in on a wheelchair and made sure I was seen immediately. I was injected with steroids and kept in until the oxygen levels in my blood returned to normal. |
| Everyone who saw me was wonderful. Every single doctor and nurse did their bit to mend me. But the paramedics, who had to deal with an entirely impromptu situation, made the biggest impression. | Everyone who saw me was wonderful. Every single doctor and nurse did their bit to mend me. But the paramedics, who had to deal with an entirely impromptu situation, made the biggest impression. |
| By ensuring I arrived at hospital conscious, I have no doubt they saved me from brain damage or death. What struck me more than anything was the reassuring, measured way they dealt with me and calmed me down in the back of that car. I can’t remember exactly what they said to me – they just made me realise that I was in completely safe hands. That was at least as important as the oxygen they gave me. | By ensuring I arrived at hospital conscious, I have no doubt they saved me from brain damage or death. What struck me more than anything was the reassuring, measured way they dealt with me and calmed me down in the back of that car. I can’t remember exactly what they said to me – they just made me realise that I was in completely safe hands. That was at least as important as the oxygen they gave me. |
| After they were confident I was being looked after, they just walked away and went back on their shift. They had saved my life and disappeared to do the same thing another one, two or three more times that night. | After they were confident I was being looked after, they just walked away and went back on their shift. They had saved my life and disappeared to do the same thing another one, two or three more times that night. |
| I’m not special, none of it was fate and there was no guardian angel that night – just an amazing team of ordinary people who were extraordinary at their jobs. | I’m not special, none of it was fate and there was no guardian angel that night – just an amazing team of ordinary people who were extraordinary at their jobs. |
| The attacks are no longer a part of my life. I learned my problems were as much down to me not managing my illness as they were from the cat, as I had stopped taking medication when I was fit and young because I wasn’t suffering. Far from my theory that this was my first asthma attack, I had been having regular mild asthma attacks for years that I had accepted. The dander – flakes of skin in the cat’s saliva – were just the trigger to send me over the edge. | The attacks are no longer a part of my life. I learned my problems were as much down to me not managing my illness as they were from the cat, as I had stopped taking medication when I was fit and young because I wasn’t suffering. Far from my theory that this was my first asthma attack, I had been having regular mild asthma attacks for years that I had accepted. The dander – flakes of skin in the cat’s saliva – were just the trigger to send me over the edge. |
| A few days after the incident I wrote a thank-you card and put it in an envelope marked with the details of when and where the events took place, in the hope the paramedics would get it. Shamefully, I never took it to the hospital. I know I thanked them before they left me but it saddens me I never got to let them know everything worked out fine and just how deep my gratitude was, regardless of how routine it may have been to them. | A few days after the incident I wrote a thank-you card and put it in an envelope marked with the details of when and where the events took place, in the hope the paramedics would get it. Shamefully, I never took it to the hospital. I know I thanked them before they left me but it saddens me I never got to let them know everything worked out fine and just how deep my gratitude was, regardless of how routine it may have been to them. |