Scarborough mum thanks NHS staff who saved her life after heart attack during Covid
The NHS is celebrating its 75th birthday today
Today is the 75th birthday of the NHS and we are hearing from a Scarborough mum whose life was saved during Covid.
52 year-old Janine Watson had a heart attack in August 2020.
She said: "I was getting ready for work. It was about half past 7 in the morning and suddenly I had this massive crushing feeling. I couldn't breathe and I couldn't talk. I couldn't move my arms. I managed to stagger into the bedroom where thankfully my husband was still asleep. He automatically woke up and said 'it's not your asthma is it?' and he dialled 999 straight away.
Janine has been sharing her story with Greatest Hits Radio's Karen Liu:
"I remember getting to the doors and there was a team of doctors and nurses waiting for me. They literally whizzed me away and I went straight into theatre. Maybe an hour later, I was sat up in the hospital bed thinking 'oh my God, I've just had surgery.' It was absolutely amazing.
"The worse thing was that as it was happening, my husband jumped into his car to follow the ambulance. Whilst he was driving, my son rung him saying 'what's happening? My mum's having a procedure.' He just said 'I'm not there yet. I don't know.' When he got there, they wouldn't let him in. He had no idea what was going on and I was saying to the nurses 'it was worrying me more because I can't talk to him and I can't let him know I'm OK.'
"I had emergency stents put in to all three main arteries to cure the immediate problem. I had to go back a couple of months later to have another three stents in, so I currently have six stents.
"It's a bit of a family trait sadly. I lost my dad at 49, lost my brother at 49, my other brother had a heart attack and thankfully he's still here. I had my heart attack at 49 and I'm still here, so I can't fault them.
"I thought I was a goner. I honestly did but thankfully I was really lucky and they reacted so quickly."
Scarborough Castle will light up blue tonight to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the NHS.