18-year-old reconnected with nurses who saved her life as a baby

The feelgood story of a new UWE Bristol student’s return to the city where she spent six months as a baby at the Children’s Hospital has spread around the world.

A tweet by Martin Dorey about his daughter Maggie has now been liked almost 150,000 times, with the heartwarming tale reuniting some old friends.

Eighteen-year-old Maggie, who is from Bude in Cornwall, is studying fine art at university. The Children’s Hospital can be seen from her room in her city centre accommodation block.

Sharing a photo of Maggie in her room, Martin wrote: “Dropped Maggie at uni in Bristol today. From her new room you can see the room at Bristol Children’s Hospital where, 17 years earlier, she spent 6 months fighting for her life against leukaemia. Tears of joy. Thank you NHS.”

Charlotte Higby responded to the post, saying: “As a nurse who looked after Maggie all those years ago, I can’t tell you how much this post means. Have an amazing time Maggie!”

Martin said: “Thank you for your message… can I assume that you are one of the Charlotte/Charlie team who stepped in after an anaphylactic reaction to chemo. And so gave my other daughter Charlie her name?”

Charlotte replied saying: “Yep that’s me! I have never forgotten that night. Every year when I do my life support training and they ask ‘has anyone any experience of anaphylaxis’ I think of Maggie.”

Speaking to Bristol24/7, Martin, the founder of 2 Minute Beach Clean, said that the reaction to the story has “extraordinary”.

He said: “Firstly getting in touch with Charlotte and Charlie and having them know after all this time that Charlotte, born in Bristol during treatment, was named after them.

“Secondly for all the messages and also the messages from people who have also been affected by childhood cancer or lost kids to cancer.

“The reaction has been truly astounding and it’s so great to have moved so many people. That’s incredible. Not just for Maggie’s story but for the NHS. It’s being decimated by politicians and disaster capitalists and it needs to be saved. It is so precious.

“In any other country I would have lost everything but here it was all free to me. Amazing! So if any good comes out if it it’s that people might donate to Young Lives vs Cancer, the charity that put us up in Briz for six months, or vote for people who care about the NHS.”

Maggie and her sister Charlie, named after the nurses who saved her life – photo: Martin Dorey

So what about all this online attention for fresher Maggie? “I think she is a bit oblivious,” Martin told Bristol24/7.

“Although I have told her, as she doesn’t do Twitter. Thankfully she’s an 18-year-old having a blast in a fantastic new city.”

Young Lives vs Cancer run CLIC House on Fremantle Square in Kingsdown, where Martin and his family were able to stay for free during the whole of Maggie’s treatment at the nearby Children’s Hospital. “Otherwise we’d have been scuppered,” he said.

To donate to Young Lives vs Cancer, visit donations.younglivesvscancer.org.uk

Main photo: Martin Dorey

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