Kings Heath man gets hospital letter telling him he is pregnant
Dec 8 2010 by Catherine Lillington
A BIRMINGHAM man was left needing a special dose of gas and air after he received a letter from an NHS hospital telling him he was PREGNANT.
Hilton Plettell should expect the pitter-patter of tiny feet in seven months’ time, according to the correspondence sent to him from the obstetric department of a hospital in Norwich.
The 50-year-old, from Kings Heath, said he was “flabbergasted” when he received the appointment letter inviting him to a scan – and warning him he could be expecting twins!
Opening “Dear Mr Plettell”, the note also advised him: “Please also attend with a full bladder, which is important for your planned ultrasound. An ultrasound scan is used to check the pregnancy, to determine how far pregnant you are, and sometimes it can show twins.”
Hilton, who never got round to having children and works as a merchandising manager, said: “It came as a bit of a shock, I’ve shown the letter to quite a few friends and they can’t believe it.
“I knew the letter was genuine. The date of birth, the National Insurance number and everything on there is correct. I’m just surprised they can send something like that.”
Attached to the letter was a sheet of stickers where they even specify Hilton is “male”. Since the unexpected news Hilton has become the butt of all his mates’ jokes – most of them ending with Mothercare in the punchline.
“The ribbing has been coming thick and fast,” he said.
“When I walk up to the door of my snooker club in West Heath I get ‘Ooh mother and baby coming through!’
“A few of my friends have told me to turn up at Norwich Hospital as a woman and wear a wig, but obviously it’s so far.” Hilton’s partner of five years, Debbie Brennan, aged 49, said for once the practical joker was left stunned.
