A seriously ill bride who was forced to cancel her wedding three times finally got hitched thanks to kind-hearted hospital staff.
Kathleen Swallow finally married her fiance Eddie Eames at the fifth time of asking because of the dedication of staff at Paisley’s Royal Alexandra Hospital. And on Tuesday grateful Kathleen thanked the staff who treated her “like a queen”.
Kathleen and Eddie, both from Paisley, had been planning to marry before the pandemic but when Covid struck they had to cancel their plans four times. With lockdown over they set a fifth date for March 4 this year.
Everything was on track for the big day – until February 16 when Kathleen felt a pins-and-needles sensation in her hands and feet. At first her GP thought she was having an allergic reaction to antibiotics she was taking for another condition but three days later she lost the use of her legs, was in intense pain and was taken to hospital.
Kathleen said: “I was in real distress but the doctor I saw didn’t think it was an allergic reaction and instead thought it could be Guillain Barre Syndrome.”
Guillain Barre is a very rare and serious condition which affects nerves, causing problems like numbness, weakness and pain. It can be treated and most people will eventually make a full recovery but it can be life-threatening and some people are left with long-term problems.
Kathleen continued: “I was sent for a test, Guillain Barre was confirmed and treatment was started right away. That doctor really did save my life. If they hadn’t reacted so quickly and looked after me like they did, I can’t bear to think what would have happened.”
But the day after she was admitted Kathleen dropped the bombshell about the date of her wedding.
She added: “The doctors said, ‘If we can, we’ll get you in the best condition for your wedding’. I was so happy, and it made me really determined to get there.”
She was moved into a single room so she could have some privacy and the whole team worked to get her well enough to make her wedding. When the big day arrived, she was given the all-clear to attend the ceremony on the proviso she returned afterwards to continue her treatment.
The whole team helped her to get ready with some staff even coming in on their day off to muck in. Once the couple were on their way to the ceremony the team set to work decorating her room with flowers, hearts and balloons and they moved in a visitor bed so that Kathleen and Eddie, 34, could at least be in the same room after their wedding.
Kathleen said: “It was the perfect day. Even though I had to go up the aisle on crutches and I was in a wheelchair at the reception, Eddie and I had such a wonderful time.”
And just four weeks after she was admission she was discharged. She said: “If it wasn’t for the team at the RAH, none of this would have happened. All I can say is thank you. Thank you for saving me, thank you for the wonderful care you gave me – and thank you for the best day of my life.”
Kathleen also had some special words of thanks for her new husband: “Eddie has been brilliant. He’s had so much to deal with over the past few weeks but he’s handled it so well.
“Every day I’m feeling better. I have movement in my legs and am walking with crutches now. I can’t wait to see what married life has in store for us both.”
Angela Thomson, Senior Charge Nurse on Ward 10 where Kathleen was being cared for, said: “When we heard what Kathleen had been through we thought, yes, we have to make this happen, to give her something to aim for. We spoke to the neurologist and when he said OK, it was all systems go.
“We’re all so overwhelmed and grateful for her thanks. We just do what we do. We’re blessed with such an amazing team in Ward 10. We just wanted her to be walking down the aisle.
“Kathleen and Eddie are such a lovely couple, and we’re all delighted to have been able to help. But, really, it was Kathleen’s determination that got her there – the fight she put up was amazing.”
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