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A decade ago today, I was rushed into hospital with internal bleeding.
It was kidney cancer.
I made a blog at the time, and noted the names and nationalities of those who saved me.
They're probably risking their lives to save others right now. I want to thank them.
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It was kidney cancer.
I made a blog at the time, and noted the names and nationalities of those who saved me.
They're probably risking their lives to save others right now. I want to thank them.
1/
• The Polish surgeon who fitted an emergency catheter when I was screaming in pain
• The Filipino nurse who held my hand for an hour when I was having a weep in the middle of the night
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• The Filipino nurse who held my hand for an hour when I was having a weep in the middle of the night
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• The Dutch oncologist who performed a biopsy and identified the treatment I needed
• The Spanish anaesthesiologist who planned an urgent pain relief program when they couldn't get the epidural needle in
• The Hungarian and British surgeons who worked on me for 9 hours
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• The Spanish anaesthesiologist who planned an urgent pain relief program when they couldn't get the epidural needle in
• The Hungarian and British surgeons who worked on me for 9 hours
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• The Pakistani ward sister who led the care I needed during my 7 week stay
• The Belgian professor of histology who identified my tumour as chromophobe renal cell carcinoma
• The Greek doctor at Christies who leads the experimental chemotherapy that prevented a relapse
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• The Belgian professor of histology who identified my tumour as chromophobe renal cell carcinoma
• The Greek doctor at Christies who leads the experimental chemotherapy that prevented a relapse
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And obviously the thousands, millions who do work to support those specific people.
Do you notice anything about this list, though?
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Do you notice anything about this list, though?
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Obviously, millions of British people work in the NHS, but the key contact points for me were almost all immigrants.
26% of NHS doctors were born overseas. A quarter.
Right now they, and hundreds of thousands of their colleagues, are risking their lives to save yours.
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26% of NHS doctors were born overseas. A quarter.
Right now they, and hundreds of thousands of their colleagues, are risking their lives to save yours.
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But they ALWAYS saved you. They saved me a decade ago. They treated your mum's angina, your dad's diabetes, your daughter's croup, your son's tonsillitis. Even if you didn't see immigrants treating you, they'd be in labs, pharmacies, back rooms, performing essential tasks
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I'm absolutely delighted we're appreciating the NHS, and even hearing Piers Morgan singing the praises of the immigrants without whom we would literally die.
But immigrants have endured decades of loathing and mistreatment. And not just in the NHS. Everywhere.
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But immigrants have endured decades of loathing and mistreatment. And not just in the NHS. Everywhere.
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I hope this is the end of the division. I hope more of us start to recognise interconnectedness helps us all. That somebody being born in Banglashesh doesn't make them less of a human. That the love and care - and right now, the risk - helps us all.
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9/9
