Here we go again
Sometimes, unpleasant things just keep happening time and time again for no reason. All you can do is bear with it and the people featured in this episode have certainly had their fair share of the past repeating itself.
39-year-old Stephan is rushed to St George’s with internal bleeding from his femoral artery. “When someone comes in and they’re bleeding from their femoral artery, you need to act quickly,” says registrar Sophie. “You need to stop that bleeding otherwise the consequences could be very serious.”
Stephan has a condition called Sudden Arrhythmic Death Syndrome and the bleed was caused by complications following an angiogram he had the day before. Doctors are concerned that the drop in blood pressure and sudden blood loss could be putting Stephan’s heart under potentially fatal strain. Stephan had to have a device fitted to restart his heart and his cardiologist encouraged him to ‘live a little’ – so he’s in training for his first Iron Man event.
Stephan’s wife Fiona talks about how the couple met in their twenties, but things didn’t work out and they cut all ties for three years before deciding to meet up to give it another try. “He pulled up the driveway, I took one look at him and I said ‘I have to be with this guy!’,” says Fiona. “There’s not a day that goes by that he doesn’t do something magical for me. He just treats me like a princess. I could not imagine my life without Stephan.”
19-year-old Emmanuel Junior comes to A&E after suffering an acute attack of sickle cell disease. It’s a chronic condition that causes infections, severe pain and can lead to early death. Emmanuel Junior’s sister died from the condition.
“Sickle cell, it’s not anything that can be controlled,” says Emmanuel Junior’s mum, Elizabeth. “The blood cells sickle and then it starts a whole extreme painful episode. And you don’t know when it’s going to end.”
Meanwhile 40-year-old Fernanda has come into St George’s with abdominal pain. The mum of five is with her 3-year-old twins and their dad Jorge. Doctors take blood and urine samples to find out what’s causing Fernanda’s pain. But the test results reveal a surprising reason for her discomfort.
