Five Christmas miracles shared by healthcare professionals

The patient who called in tears to say a new kidney had been found

I used to be a clinical nurse specialist in kidney transplantation. Prior to that I had been in charge of home heamodialysis and cared for many patients in remote areas. On Christmas Eve I had been working and went to bed around midnight. At 1am I had a call from a patient of mine whom I had looked after on home dialysis. A kidney had become available and he had been called in for a transplant. He was in tears. He told me he had been waiting for this moment for six years but now that the time had come he felt so sad. He was sad that a family was devastated at the loss of a loved one on Christmas Day but happy to have the chance of a new life. I reassured him that the family who had lost a loved one would be comforted that the kidney was being gifted to such a wonderful man who would use the opportunity to lead a full life.

He then told me that he would remember this Christmas Day for the rest of his life and that, on receiving the call, I was the first and only person he wanted to talk to. He said: “You are an outstanding nurse. Wish me luck. Hopefully this is my last day of needing dialysis. Thank you for always being there. I never thought I would say this but I’ll miss you!” He had a transplant that day and had over a decade of healthy kidney function. That Christmas was one of my best ever.

Director of nursing education, Abu Dhabi

The baby born while a choir sang carols outside

While I’m always a little sad to be away from my family, I’m lucky enough to be part of a wonderful work team. We have our own traditions and put lots of effort into celebrating Christmases spent together. We’ve won the best decorated ward three years running, we all wear Christmas jumpers and eat our NHS Christmas dinners in the canteen together. Our receptionist even comes in on Christmas morning dressed as Santa to deliver our secret Santa gifts. As we work in maternity, anyone who can’t be discharged home to be with family is normally more than happy to be spending their Christmas with us as they’re getting one of the best gifts delivered on Christmas Day. Last year when we started the Christmas Day shift we only had one woman in labour; she needed to be delivered by caesarean section and was taken into theatre. At the same time the brass band and choir had arrived on the ward to sing carols. They stood just outside the theatre and performed When a child is born and Away in a manger while our first baby of that Christmas was born. While all births are wonderful to be a part of, this one was unforgettable; there wasn’t a dry eye in the theatre.

Midwife, London

The Christmas dinner that brought warring colleagues together

This year will be my first Christmas off this century. I’ve spent the last 15 working with people with learning disabilities in residential care homes. It’s always a great day. Life and bodily functions go on, but the Christmas spirit is always wide and the enthusiasm of the people we support is contagious. Being left in an empty London and watching everyone I know make their way back home is strangely liberating. I’ll feel odd moving with the crowds this year.

One year I was managing a home where there had been a lot of issues with staff and staff tension. It was my first Christmas there and I was determined to make it a special day for everyone. We made so much effort to make it work. We were all eating together with Christmas songs in the background; everyone was wearing a paper hat and a colleague and I burst into tears as a result of what we had achieved.

Treat Me Right! manager, London

The girl who survived life-threatening injuries from a car crash

Over 30 years ago on Christmas Eve morning a teenage girl was transferred from a district general hospital to the regional cardio-thoracic intensive care unit where I worked, having sustained serious chest injuries in a car crash. I was in charge of the unit for the late shift on Christmas Day, and looked after her for the shift. She was on a ventilator and heavily sedated. I can remember her parents at her bedside and explaining every procedure I was carrying out to keep them as well informed as possible and to de-mystify an often frightening environment for families. It was touch and go and she had numerous life threatening emergencies over the next few weeks. No one knew whether she was going to make it, but she did and was discharged a few months later. She returned to the hospital where she had originally been admitted to thank the staff for her initial care. We received a letter from the consultant there telling us he couldn’t believe she’d survived her injuries and praising us all to the skies. I bumped into her a few years later; she was doing her nurse training and wanted to specialise in intensive care.

Senior staff nurse, intensive care, London

The elderly woman who shared Christmas lunch with her family for the first time in years

I no longer work over Christmas, but my favourite memory of doing so was learning that one of my clients, who was over 100 years old, had a daughter who lived around the corner from the sheltered scheme. Her daughter was too elderly and unwell to collect her mother, so I arranged to take her to her daughter’s house where she had Christmas lunch with her daughter, grandchildren and great grandchildren. It still makes me happy to think of it.

Sheltered scheme manager, London

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Five Christmas miracles shared by healthcare professionals