Katie Piper

Katie Piper

Dear NHS,

I arrived unconscious, partially clothed and faceless.

My identity melted away. My status wasn’t important to you; neither was my profession nor my possessions. No judgement, just good-quality care and fair treatment for all.

Triaged as: ‘Female, 24 years old, 22 per cent full thickness acid burns to face and body, ingestion of acid and currently no sight in either eye.’

I could have been just another admission to your already bursting wards, a number on your sheet. But you treated me as if I were your own. Like the daughter, sister and niece that I was.

It’s fair to say we kind of moved in together, me and you, Katie and the NHS. You let me sleep over for three solid months. We started in ICU and I gradually tried out every bed in the house: high-dependency, burns unit, main ward, endoscopy, the eye clinic, ENT, physio, plastics, psychology, maxillofacial, orthodontic and dermatology.

Quite the list when we all thought upon arrival that the only additional room I would be seeing beyond ICU was the morgue.

I skipped a bit of our time together, spending some time in a coma, but that was when you turned your care to my traumatised family, supporting them mentally as if they were the ones sick in the bed. Answering the anxious questions with gentle but professional truths, sharing your years of experience to help us with our very new and raw experience.

Your compassion, empathy and dedication goes way beyond your job role. No lunch breaks, clock watching or legging it out of the door the minute the shift ends. Staying on past the end of shifts to hold hands, working unpaid overtime. Care and compassion is the driving force always at the forefront of your exhausted minds.

I didn’t realise it on the day we met, but that was it, I would never fully leave you again; you have been in and out of my life, putting me back together and keeping me alive still to this day, twelve years on. We’ve been through some real highs and lows together, but you gave me a second chance at life when many feared my time was up. Then you helped me to give life to my two baby girls – from beginning to the end you held my hand once again.

NHS, you’ve taken me from victim to survivor, and finally to proud mother. How will I ever repay you?

I winced when I heard people publicly discuss you, people who didn’t understand you or what you were doing every single day; what you witnessed, what you absorbed and what you gave. As they debated whether we needed you, I felt an anger rise and a tear drop. You are the backbone of our country; take you away and we all fall down.

Thank you, NHS. I owe my life to you – you fixed me when I was broken, battered and hopeless.

You made the impossible possible and I will never forget each and every one of you. We are privileged, we are spoilt by you and you must not be taken advantage of. You are what puts Britain on the healthcare map. NHS, you truly are the heart and pride of this country.

Love,

Katie P

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