Cystic fibrosis sufferer Gillian Docherty was so severely ill she was preparing her own funeral.
The 36-year-old’s lung function was at 38 per cent capacity, which meant she was unable to climb a flight of stairs.
She had to take more than 70 pills every day and that didn’t stop her being regularly admitted to hospital for treatment.
But her life changed when she was accepted for a place on the trial for cystic fibrosis drug Kaftrio.
The Daily Record campaigned for this drug to be made available on the NHS.
We told harrowing stories of patients like Gillian who was struggling to cope with the ravages of this terrible condition.
Our campaign and the pleas of sufferers made the difference and this remarkable drug was made available and began changing lives.
Gillian felt the difference Kaftrio made within just three hours and it would go on to transform her life.
The Glasgow dentist and her husband Andy welcomed a beautiful baby boy, Frederick, four months ago.
If Gillian hadn’t received Kaftrio this story could have had a very different ending.
What her experience shows is the importance of the latest drugs being made available to people who need them most.
In Gillian’s case, Kaftrio not only helped save her life but allowed her to have a family.
Her story is inspirational and shows the why vital drugs must always be made available on the NHS.
Waiting for action
It is astonishing that an ambulance crew had to wait 16 hours in the grounds of Ayr Hospital before a patient could be admitted.
Poor bed management was blamed for this latest fiasco in the delays in ferrying people to hospital.
On staff member told the Record: “I am embarrassed to be working for an organisation where people are dying down to bed management.”
Since we began to highlight Scotland’s ambulance crisis, patients and health professionals have contacted us to share similar tales of woe.
We could almost run a story every day of someone waiting for hours before help comes or is admitted to hospital.
The Scottish Government has apologised again and acknowledged the Ayr patient’s wait was “unacceptably long”.
That’s all good and well but when will the Scottish public see the improvement in services that they need and deserve?
How many stories likes this will the Daily Record have to report before something is done?
