Woodworker in sepsis scare comes up with unique thank you for ‘kind’ NHS staff
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The 74-year-old from Whitecross near Linlithgow was transferred from Forth Valley Hospital in Larbert to the QEUH in Glasgow in January for specialist care.
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Mr McDonald said: “I’d contracted sepsis and after being blue-lighted to the QEUH they found I had a kidney issue so I was put on dialysis.”
He spent four weeks in Ward 4A receiving treatment for acute kidney injury.
Having got to know the staff well during his stay, Mr McDonald – a joiner and cabinet maker by trade – spent the next eight months in his back-garden workshop chipping, sanding, sawing and carving away to create personalised gifts as a token of his appreciation.
He said: “I was pretty unwell – in fact, at the time I didn’t realise how bad it was. I’m still living with the aftermath, but I’m always be grateful for all that they did for me.”
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Among the wooden gifts is a guitar stand for a music lover, a gift of friendship for a domestic who stopped to chat every day, and a special carving for renal consultant, Kate Stevens, who gave him a jar of her own honey after he mentioned that he missed having it in his porridge in the mornings.
“It turns out she was a beekeeper so the next day she arrived in my room, with a jar of her own honey for me to enjoy with my porridge,” said Mr McDonald.
“It was such a lovely gesture and I made her something that seemed fitting.”
He also praised Sheila Goldie, a domestic who cleaned the ward every day.
“We talked every day, so I created something that reminded me of friendship,” said Mr McDonald.
“Then there was Pamela Alexander, one of the Charge Nurses on the unit. She was really lovely and helped me with my dialysis when I wasn’t well. I wanted to make something that really said thank you to her.
“And Kevin McCafferty, he was the main man for me. He was something else – always laughing, always joking. My leg was quite bad, and he really looked after me. I really appreciated that, so I made him something I thought he might appreciate just as much.
“Or Housekeeper Barrie Sweeney. I was out of Lucozade one day and really needed a drink, so he went away and brought me back tins of Irn-Bru. I wanted to craft something that showed my appreciation.”
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Mr McDonald made a surprise return to Ward 4A on August 22 when he dropped off his gifts to the stunned team.
He added: “I don’t think all the staff at that hospital, or across the NHS for that matter, really appreciate how they change people’s lives with their care, and their kindness.”
Alison McKechnie, Senior Charge Nurse at the QEUH Renal Unit, was there when Campbell presented his gifts.
She said: “It’s always lovely to receive a gift, but Campbell had been with us for a fair while, and he’d got to know the staff so well that this was particularly special given the thought and effort he had put in.”
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