My dad was brought to Kings Mill Hospital following a cardiac arrest at home where my mum and 9-year-old little sister had to perform CPR, upon arrival at the hospital it was clear he was not in a good way and ended up in the ACCU ward where he then remained for nearly 7 weeks. On our arrival at the hospital we were met by a lady called Katarina who introduced herself as one of the nurse liaisons for the ACCU department and from that moment on we wish we could have taken her home with us every day, she made the hardest of experiences a bit more bearable, she listened to our worries, our cries, our hopes, and our nightmares she stepped up to support us when we couldn’t for ourselves, she held our hands and provided a teddy bear for my little sister that dad could keep with him, and she could cuddle it every time she saw him, and it would stay with him always. Katarina provided us with books, leaflets, and plenty of advice on how to have difficult chats with my little sister about the future of dad’s health/care, which at the time was “he isn’t going to make it out of hospital alive.” 

Katarina just went above and beyond in every way possible, when we had the hardest news that dad was in multi-organ failure and that we would need to look at keeping him comfy rather than treating him, she did everything possible to still make us smile, she even recorded dad’s heartbeat so that we could use it in a teddy. I am so thankful for everything she did for my family, and I know she deserves this award more than anything. 

My dad was a Miracle, and he is currently doing amazingly and has now come home after just under 12 weeks in hospital!

Katarina THANK YOU! From all of my family, including my dad.