I’m a paediatric intensive care consultant.
I did not strike yesterday although fully support my colleagues.
Instead I did my last ever night shift after 22 years in
#NHS
Sorry 🇬🇧 I’m leaving for 🇨🇦 next week.
For me (and my children - the next gen) it was just too late 😔
I am a NHS consultant. I am financially comfortable, in a job I love, so why am I striking tomorrow?
Answer: Because the next generation will not be able to live off what I do today. The juniors that will become these consultants know this and are leaving already.
Why? 🧵 👇
Happy 9th Birthday to my son Fergus 🎉
As many of my
#twitterfriends
know, he’s sadly missed the last 7.. but I wanted to say out loud i’d really like him here today to blow out some candles. 🎂
But, as no cake, I’ve given pint of 🩸to someone else instead.
#inspiredbyfergus
Tonight…
We have paediatric intensive care beds in U.K.
I repeat,
We have paediatric intensive care beds in U.K.
We (PICU doctors) WILL tell you if we don’t - but we will also find a way to care for your children & not scare you.
#pedsicu
#responsiblemessages
#picu
Yesterday we celebrated the short life of my son Fergus who died 5yrs ago.
Amongst the sadness was the happy realisation his legacy grows through his amazing siblings and the renewed strength & empathy I can share and use with others in
#pedsicu
& beyond. 💫🎈
#inspiredbyfergus
Yesterday was tough. One empty chair at our Xmas table and a bench to decorate - but today, a Boxing Day gift knowing that a little part of my son was used to make
#braintumour
research breakthrough for others. Thanks
#andrewpeet
and team
@BchNeuroOnc
#inspiredbyfergus
I only went & won an award!
**Chief investigator of the year**
🫢 V pleased - BUT it’s thanks to all the awesome teams that help me design, deliver and make it happen. Also the 💫 families and children who participate .
#pedsicu
@BWC_NHS
@BacrUob
@NIHRresearch
@CRN_WMid
Happy 6th birthday Fergus! I hope you’re enjoying playing in the Angels U7s rugby team, you’ve had 3 yrs of coaching up there so I know you’ll be brilliant 🏉. I’m sorry Dad can’t watch. Your sister sends the clearest message for us all. 💫😘
#neverforget
#inspiredbyfergus
@antmiddleton
As a non military, family man, working with critically ill children in a hospital, and quietly working out why I lost a child - I think the messages you say and the way you say them are perfect to help me fight my internal and external battles. Don’t stop pls.
7 year anniversary of the death of my beautiful son Fergus 💫 & a new home to remember him 🔒 ❤️
#DistilleryDistrictTO
. As a young colleague reminded me today: grief doesn’t get smaller but the space you can live in around it slowly gets bigger.
#inspiredbyfergus
#bekind
My son Fergus loved wearing hats. Sadly, brain tumour research wasn't good enough then to cure him. Pls support
#WearAHatDay
on 29th
@braintumourrsch
help find a cure for kids in the future. You can Text HAT to 70660 to donate £5 and of course WEAR A FUN HAT!!
Happy 7th Birthday Fergus 🎁🌈💫.
Really tough to ‘celebrate’ without you. Especially without friends & family allowed to visit too. We’ll try.
But I know I’m not the only one.
So big hug to all mums & dads out there x
#inspiredbyfergus
#childdeath
My respect for the unbelievable staff last night at
@UHBCriticalCare
and
@uhbtrust
is off the scale.
Thank you for being so brave and sticking with it. (Especially the Area C
#superteam
) 🙏
First day of the next chapter of my
#Pedsicu
life… thanks
@SickKidsCCM
for giving me this exciting opportunity 🇨🇦
Although also missing my
@BWC_NHS
friends, especially with the difficult time you’re all having this past week 💔🎈-sending hugs.
Happy 9th Birthday to my son Fergus 🎉
As many of my
#twitterfriends
know, he’s sadly missed the last 7.. but I wanted to say out loud i’d really like him here today to blow out some candles. 🎂
But, as no cake, I’ve given pint of 🩸to someone else instead.
#inspiredbyfergus
Created in Brum, Grown in Brum, Nurtured in Brum - Proud to be a
#PedsICU
consultant
#Brummie
with this bunch!
Thanks to
@Dishoom
for supplying a fantastic dinner and farewell to the consultant team
@BWC_NHS
Dear
#pedsicu
world, Prof Kevin Morris is retiring from
@PICU_BCH
. He wants to go quietly (!) he deserves more. As he isn’t on Twitter I thought I could come to friends, colleagues and previous trainees - to share memories and stories!! Please DM me if they can’t be posted!!
A little thought..
I've been running flat out for 2+ weeks (like you all). In that time I've said out loud 'I'm scared' (and it helped). I've reduced my fear by reading, talking & learning. Mostly understanding how everything I've learnt about 'Uncertainty' is important now 1/
Thank you for all the v kind messages. This came today. Seems that the empty chair wasn’t as empty as I thought.
‘You may not see them but they are there’..
😘 to a very kind friend and their talented brother-in law. 💫
#inspiredbyfergus
Yesterday was tough. One empty chair at our Xmas table and a bench to decorate - but today, a Boxing Day gift knowing that a little part of my son was used to make
#braintumour
research breakthrough for others. Thanks
#andrewpeet
and team
@BchNeuroOnc
#inspiredbyfergus
In 2016 when my son had a brain tumour we encouraged friends to register as stem-cell donors.
Today one friend told me they matched; they’re on their way to hopefully saving someone else’s life.
Today I’m happy.
#inspiredbyfergus
@Louisescholefi2
As the dust settles on my last clinical service week
@BWC_NHS
- a huge thanks to the amazing colleagues, parents & kids who make
#Brummie
#pedsicu
such a great place to work. I will miss you all! (+ many more not photographed!)
Being a father to a child who isn’t here is really hard.
Doing crazy things (with friends) helps abit.
➡️Ironman tri in 3 weeks.
Also might keep Fergus’ research fund alive
Thanks friends. X
#inspiredbyfergus
#ironbourne
#penguinsagainstcancer
It’s that time of year for long tweets on research outputs, family adventures, resolutions & 2023 regrets…
Instead I’ll just say I’m in a great
#pedsicu
place, they have this stuff for 4am pick-me up, I’m happy & healthy.
Be kind to yourself, keep safe & see you in 2024 x
Dave’s seen a thing called portraits for NHS heroes on instagram inspiring him to offer portraits of our staff on PICU. To nominate someone see details below
Photos to be clear picture close so he can see the face he’ll do 1 a day.
To start I nominate Barney for his 909 zooms
@SCClarkFRCS
At least they know that patients with Covid need to lie down… if they’d written ‘NHS Proners’ I’d have been slightly more impressed…
Stay positive
#freeman
- plenty more signs pointing out the
#nhsheros
and importance than
#nhs
teams provide.
#covidiots
#ESPNIC19
lesson:
Speaker: Study using Dex in
#pedsicu
in India of ALL kids ventilated >48hrs
Me: Why ALL >48hrs? Isn’t that excess inclusion?
Speaker: No, all tubed kids need 10-12hrs hand ventilation by a PARENT before we have a bed & ETT moves a bit.
Me:
#respect
#LMIC
For those interested in
#containerwatch
I can announce it’s arrived (nearly) safely! 6 weeks door to door - quietly impressed. Even the 🎹 is 98% intact…. (Although needs a little tuning & some new wheels). Now to have the unpacking party!
It is with great sadness we share the news that we have lost a colleague and a friend. Dr Vishna Rasiah was a well-respected and much-loved Consultant Neonatologist here at Birmingham Women’s Hospital.
I hope we can
#bekind
like Vish....
This is the last email I received from him when I was just doing my job for
@KIDSNTS
transport service. It sums up want a kind, humble man he was and how important simple human kindness is. He will be missed. 😥
#bekind
#thankyou
@nicuBWC
Wonderful to read of the lives of these two special girls 19 yrs on.. Extra special to me as I was the most junior member of the surgical team who got to ‘clerk them in!’. 2 sets of paperwork for one bed... worth it!
@BWC_NHS
Conjoined twins:
#Bestrong
@AlderHey
we know you care - as we all do everyday. Humbling words indeed
@DrPeterMarc
. For every child who dies, a little bit of us goes with them each time. Whether it’s our own or the ones we care for. Trust me, I know. We are not murderers. We care.
So normally after a tough
@KIDSNTS
#pedsicu
night shift, I just thank everyone for their awesome hard graft. But instead today I’m going to recover by going to my daughter’s 1st Movie Premiere too!!
🎸💫
#NATIVITYROCKS
💫🎸
I’m so bloody excited!
#prouddad
@NativityFilmUK
Thank you to all the amazing people who have left kind messages. The world is truly a small-connected place and I love that I can share my adventures and new chapter with so many. You are all so special 😊
#pedsicu
#nhs
🇨🇦🇬🇧
In time i will share thoughts on '
#uncertainty
' & '
#grief
' but now is time for me to rest. Its okay to say you're scared & its okay to switch off too. I want to thank my
#TwitterFriends
for being here. This crisis will change us all - but it will be for the better. Back soon...
#PIMSTS
#MISC
#pedsicu
Intensive care admissions of children with paediatric inflammatory multisystem syndrome temporally associated with SARS-CoV-2 (PIMS-TS) in the UK: a multicentre observational study - The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health
Brief reflection on a recent tough, sleepless, weekend with the
@PICU_BCH
team. Oh, what a team: oozing compassionate care, applying extreme technological skill, supportive humour and unrelenting will to help.
#pedsicu
1/
Unsung hero of the
#nhs
#Simonlaker
retiring after 37 years service
@BWC_NHS
Popped in to
#pedsicu
to say goodbye on his last day.
A prolific research study recruiter & nurse! Thank you for your service. Enjoy retirement!
Saying goodbye to my first group of residents
@SickKidsCCM
- my only regret is not realising how many WEREN’T on twitter/X…
Good luck on your next adventures - fantastic bunch. hope to see you back in
#pedsicu
in the future!
#SoMe
training no.1 priority for next cohort!
Today a close friend (who wishes to remain anonymous) had their stem cells harvested to donate to a matched stranger who desperately needs them:
#inspiredbyfergus
(my son) this
#sparksjoy
+++ and makes today a happy day. Thank you! Go register
@AnthonyNolan
@DKMS_uk
Our Network Awards 2021 Shortlist is out! . Congratulations to all those shortlisted - we look forward to seeing you at the Awards Ceremony on 9 December.
So after 14 hours of trains & planes I’ve now moved from wearing my Salzburg
#espnic19
hat to joining this awesome bunch! Off to complete the U.K. coast to coast route (150miles in a day) tomorrow for a brilliant cause
@PICU_BCH
#pedsicu
As voting opens today for our next
@PICSociety
#pccssg
chair - a few thoughts on:
‘Why do we need
#PedsICU
research?’
… and a BIG thank you for everyone who’s supported me over the last 4 years!
#PCCSSG
#Blog
#thankyou
Link to website blog:
‘Live life.’
A simple message taken from the memories of an inspiring young man’s funeral I had the privilege to attend this weekend.
No mention of citations, H index, income, overtime…. Just friendships, kindness, time for others & never letting cancer/illlness define us. 😔
An amazingly accurate of depiction of grief….
& In the words of Coldplay.. ‘nobody said it was easy’
Keep safe all & huge hugs, whatever ‘stage’ you’re at.
Super proud of working with the
@BWC_NHS
#pedsicu
team on Christmas Eve.
Wishing all my colleagues and
#medtwitter
friends and families a big Happy Christmas. It’s been (and still is) a tough year.
#Keepsafe
and
#bekind
to yourself - you’ve deserved all the 🍫!! 🎅🏻🎄☃️
It's over! After 4 months, 60+ shows, a world premiere, 7 cities, countless hotels/ restaurants & meeting celebs! Amazing Life skills & memories have been made. The
@nativityuk
musical journey is over for my 10yr old little Beatrice, I am so proud. Thank you
@DeborahIsitt
😘💫🌟
On my way home 🏠
But Wow!!
Blown away by the incredible friendship, professionalism, inspiration of the
@SickKidsCCM
nurses, NPs, RTs, fellows & attendings (and all the other brilliant staff!)
Will share a 🇬🇧 vs 🇨🇦 fund facts soon
Thank you!
#pedsicu
#neuropicu