" Totally Overwhelmed"

Last May, I got a terrible infection, which attacked everything from my brain to my lungs, mostly affecting my mouth and my throat.

My wonderful partner found me unconscious and gasping for breath and hurriedly called 999, thus saving my life. It was going to be the first of many times my life was saved that night. It was going to be a long night! The paramedics were here in a heartbeat. They performed an emergency tracheotomy, which was possibly another of my many life saves! I was doing a great impersonation of a cat using up my 9 lives! It transpired that I was clinically dying/dead.

For 12 hours, a host of 6 different consultants, numerous theatre staff, and God knows how many other wonderful people battled to save me. Don't ask me how, but between them all they managed it, even rescusitating me at least 4 times! I was then put into an induced coma where I remained for 4 weeks waking up in the Intensive Care Unit. Needless to say, I was completely oblivious to any of this (I was filled in with the details later). I woke up eventually, much to everyone's surprise.

I then managed to get a haematoma, which required another surgery lasting 3 hours (yet another life save!) waking up again in the Intensive Care Unit. I have no words to express my thanks and gratitude to All the staff in the Intensive Care Unit and various theatre technicians, etc etc etc.

It goes far beyond any words I have to express my gratitude.

I was then transferred up to the Clandon ward, where I also got amazingly wonderful care from everyone from the consultants, to the nurses, to the auxiliary staff, and absolutely everyone in between.

After surviving everything from brain clots, sepsis (on more than one occasion!), pneumonia, and God knows what else, I'm still here and able to talk about it. I spent 3 month's in total in the Royal Surrey.

I'm back home and recovering slowly and that is totally thanks to everyone who took amazing care of me, from the Paramedics, to ICU, to Clandon and all and everyone in-between, there are far too many to mention!!

Thank you, thank you to everyone at the Royal Surrey.

MarieW