Suicide bomber Emad Al Swealmeen may have failed in his twisted mission to kill indiscriminately at Liverpool Women's Hospital a year ago.
However for many of those caught up in the chaos inflicted by the 32-year-old former pizza chef, the impact of his horrific plan continues to be felt. One of those people is 35-year-old Helen Edwards-Hughes, an Aigburth civil servant who was already going through a terrifying experience following a difficult birth in the Toxteth maternity hospital.
Helen spent 12 days in the hospital with her baby girl Penelope after an emergency caesarean on November 9. Due to strict covid rules at the time restricting the amount of time her husband, James Hughes, could spend at her bedside, she was alone with Penelope when the bomb went off.
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The ECHO caught up with Helen 12 months on, to ask how she had been affected in the longer term. She said: "To be honest it has left me with some of the symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, and for that I have had therapy with Talk Liverpool.
"It left me a lot more panicky, and to tell the truth it was very difficult for a while. I didn't realise how it was going to make me feel about myself. But after speaking with Talk Liverpool it has helped massively, I am feeling a lot better."
Helen and James have been effusive with praise for staff at Liverpool Women's Hospital, and even brought staff a box of cookies and cakes to celebrate Penelope's first birthday. James has also raised thousands by performing charity challenges for the Liverpool Women's Hospital Charity, including a 12 hour live-stream on his Twitch gaming channel 'Supereffective Jay', a hospital Strictly Come Dancing night, climbing Mount Snowden, a 96 mile walk from Liverpool Anglican Cathedral to York Minster and the Yorkshire three peaks.
Jay also has a JustGiving page for future challenges here.
Five days before Al Swealmeen's suicide device detonated in a taxi outside the main entrance, Helen had been taken in by James, after reporting cramping and bleeding. Doctors decided to perform a caesarean section in the early hours of November 10, and to Helen's horror said Penelope was showing signs of infection.
After just a few minutes with Penelope, Helen and James had wait while their first-born was whisked away for treatment. Their anxiety was heightened when a consultant told them she was being tested for possible meningitis.
Speaking last year, Helen said: "I was scared beyond my wildest dreams quite honestly. It was quite hard; because of covid visiting was a lot more limited for partners. When the incident happened I was in the hospital on my own.
"I was towards the front of the hospital but because I was recovering from a caesarean section I was on the bed and I couldn't see the front entrance. I think I was feeding Penelope when I heard the bang go off. I just thought 'oh, that's a loud noise' but it is really near town and I didn't really give it any thought.
"But then things started going round; someone's partner had been at the front entrance and had seen the car. Then there was all sorts of other stuff. Then it started to filter through that it was being treated as terrorism. There were so many police outside which was kind of reassuring.
"But I have quite serious anxiety and my one of my top triggers is terrorism, so it really sent me over the edge. Whenever something happens like that, like the attacks in Europe or the Manchester bombing, I find it very difficult to switch off from, and then there was a terrorist outside the hospital where my little girl is and I can't leave.
"It was very hard to look at Penelope and think 'someone came and tried to take you away'."
Helen said she had a panic attack at the hospital a few days later, but praised staff for reassuring her and staying remarkably calm throughout the incident. She said: "You would not know anything had happened, they were amazing. A combination of hormones and all the events going on physically and in the carpark caused me to unravel.
"The staff on Matbase couldn’t have been any better with me. I could see how busy they were doing their daily jobs and there’s no mistaking the unsustainable pressure they seem to be under, but in no time had organised for me to get the support I needed and moved me into a side room.
"I don’t know her surname, but I believe the midwife assigned that day was called Emma and she was brilliant. I felt much better once on the side ward as it allowed me to think a bit more clearly. I’m also not great when surrounded by people so after a week nearly on a ward, I was so glad to be alone."
It is suspected that the Iraqi native had planned to blow himself up inside the hospital, but died when the device was prematurely triggered, possibly when it was jolted by the vehicle coming to a stop.
Counter Terror Policing North West have said detectives are convinced Al Swealmeen was acting alone and said his motive "remains a mystery".
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