Bartley Green woman has 106 NHS workers to thank for saving her life
A CYCLIST who cheated death in an horrific crash will never be able to thank all the NHS workers who put her back together again – because there are 106 of them.
A small army of medics, therapists, nurses and radiographers helped Rachel Burrows to recover after she broke her back.
Doctors say the life of the 36-year-old communication worker was saved by an £80 cycling helmet she was wearing when she was catapulted over her handlebars head-first into a tree.
But Rachel, from Birmingham, who feared she might have been paralysed, says she wouldn’t have made such a speedy recovery without the dedication of the NHS’s unsung heroes who looked after her 24 hours a day.
By way of a tribute, she started a list of the professionals who helped her as she lay motionless at the Midlands Centre for Spinal Injuries in Oswestry, Shropshire.
Rachel was transferred to the unit after being treated at Birmingham’s Selly Oak and Queen Elizabeth hospitals in the aftermath of the crash.
Complete bed-rest was crucial, allowing her fractured lumbar vertebrae to heal itself. Known as conservative care, the treatment has a 100 per cent success rate with none of the risks of surgery. But it is time-consuming and Rachel had to lie immobile for weeks at a time.
It was during this long recovery, many hours spent staring at the ceiling, that she started to write a hospital blog and turned to the idea of totting up the number of people who had helped her.
At first, the list featured a few ambulance workers, doctors and nurses – but it just kept growing and growing.
The final tally included:
GP (1);
medical photographer (1);
occupational therapist (1);
psychologist (1);
orthotics specialist (1);
patient transport (2);
matrons (2);
paramedics (3);
plastercast fitters (3);
ambulance drivers (3);
consultants (4);
doctors (5);
sisters (5);
physiotherapists (7);
hospital porters (15);
radiographers (15);
nurses (17);
healthcare assistants (20).
Then there were the nine volunteers and pastoral supporters who came to Rachel’s aid while she was recuperating on the ward. These comprised:
Red Cross volunteers (2), providing weekly manicures;
Hospital volunteers (5);
Clergy (2), Catholic priest and a member of the Anglican clergy.
Rachel, who lives in Bartley Green and is Birmingham University’s head of communications, says: “I couldn’t fault the care I had. I had a very thorough and well-rounded experience from the time of the accident to being signed off within the last month.”
Her hospital stay happened to coincide with an attack by US Republicans on the NHS. It was the right-wingers’ way of rubbishing Barack Obama’s plans for health care reform.
Rachel hit back in defence of the NHS, writing her blog, and recording all aspects of life on the ward, from her mobile phone.
But as well as highlighting the “amazing range of services and care” she admits that “silly ideas for counting certain things popped into my head during my days of bed-rest”. Other weird and wonderful facts from Rachel’s five-week stay in hospital include:
Hours spent in hospital – 894;
Types of medical imagery captured – 4 (x-rays, CT scans, MRI scans, photographs);
Number of medical images taken of injuries – 35;
Mobility aids issued – 2 (helping hand litter-picker and a long-handled shoe horn);
Number of days without a shower – 85 (32 before cast was fitted, 53 before removal);
Bouquets received – 14;
Episodes of TV’s “The West Wing” watched – 101.
Rachel was discharged from hospital five weeks (“and two days”) after the accident, which happened near Bartley Green reservoir. Then she had to wear a plaster-cast for seven weeks to let the fracture completely recover.
She says her sense of humour helped her get through the traumatic experience and remains in no doubt about the importance of wearing a cycling helmet.
She recalls how an A&E medic at Selly Oak Hospital, the first hospital where she was treated, walked up to her husband Adrian in the waiting area.
“The consultant gave my husband the helmet and he said: ‘That has just saved your wife’s life’,” says Rachel.
She and Adrian, 35, a photographer and member of Beacon Roads Cycle Club, were nearing the end of a 25-mile training ride on May 9 when they took a right-handed downhill bend just half a mile from their home in Bartley Green.
Rachel recalls: “I knew I didn’t have the right line. I knew I was potentially going to crash, but I didn’t know how spectacular it would be. I remember going towards the grass verge but I don’t remember what happened next. I woke up on the floor and wanted to get up. I didn’t think I had done that much damage.”
Adrian’s quick actions undoubtedly stopped Rachel from aggravating the injury. Having flown over her handle bars and struck the tree, she had rolled back towards the road. Adrian told his wife to lie still and made sure oncoming traffic was aware of the crash scene.
Her Las cycling helmet was ripped from her head by the impact but it had done its job. Rachel recently wrote to the manufacturer, saying: “Thank you for saving my life.”
“I could have died,” says Rachel. “I feel that my helmet either saved my life or saved me from a very different life. I have no brain injury, no paralysis and I am alive to tell the tale. I am very lucky.”
Rachel also kept a log of amusing quotes she heard. Here are some excerpts “From Behind The Curtain”:
● “Oooh, your calves have got ever so soft and flabby since you’ve been on bed-rest.”
● “Is that you on that photo? I didn’t recognise you.”
● “Can you remember the last time you had your super-pubic changed?”
● “I’ll do my party trick and make the bone stick out. I like scaring my grand-kids with that one.”
