Through Thick and Thin – 24 Hours in A&E
The penultimate episode of series 10 of the award-winning medical documentary “24 Hours in A&E” is on at 9pm tonight on Channel 4. Will you be watching with us and tweeting @StGeorgesTrust under the hashtag #24HrsAE? Join us as we tweet during the live show.
13-year-old Tom is rushed to St George’s after crashing his bike headfirst into a parked car while racing a friend. Half of Tom’s face is badly swollen and doctors are concerned that the impact could have caused internal injuries. They order a CT scan to assess if he’s suffered life-changing injuries including a bleed on the brain, while specialists decide whether he will need emergency surgery to his face.
Tom’s mum Fiona talks about his dramatic early birth shortly after her own mother died from Parkinson’s. “I was expecting Tom when mum was admitted to hospital the last time,” says Fiona. “She got to see the scan pictures and that really upset her. She just turned her face away and I think she knew then she wasn’t going to meet him. That was really tough.”
26-year-old Andy arrives at A&E after injuring his knee during a game of Frisbee with best friend Sam. Andy had a challenging time growing up and has struggled with anxiety and depression for over a decade. He lived with Sam’s family for a year.
“I wasn’t able to be myself on days when I was feeling down and that’s when I found depression became unmanageable for me,” says Andy. “It comes and goes. I’ve always felt it’s like falling down a black hole. When you fall into it you feel like a failure for falling down again.”
Meanwhile 51-year-old Jason comes to St George’s with best friend Matthew after suffering from blurred vision for two days. He’s referred to an eye specialist. The pair met at school and Matthew supported Jason after both of his parents were murdered. “You either run a mile or you’re there,” says Matthew. “For what good it was, I was there.”
