By Liz Crudgington
A Birchington dad who feared he wouldn’t live to see his daughter grow up has pledged to raise £2,000 for the hospital that saved his life.
Glenn Nattrass, 48, spent seven days in critical care at the Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother Hospital in Margate after developing a blood clot in the artery that leads to his bowel.
He had to have major surgery over two days to remove the 15cm clot and at one point was told he had less than a 20 per cent chance of surviving.
The dad of one, who works for a design agency, also developed sepsis and spent several days in an induced coma.
He said: “It was pretty scary, although I didn’t really find out how bad it was until afterwards.
“I remember the surgeon saying my chances were very slim and I really thought my time was up and my daughter would grow up without a dad.
“But I got lucky – and if it wasn’t for the wonderful staff in the critical care unit I wouldn’t have made it from there to a ward, let alone to survive and lead a normal life.”
Glenn was elected chairman of the Westgate United Services Club and decided to use his year in office to raise money for East Kent Hospitals Charity, supporting the critical care unit at the QEQM.
He plans to hold a range of events, from quiz nights and race nights to a psychic evening and raffles, and has set himself a target of £2,000.
He said: “I quite literally owe them my life so this is a small way of giving something back and saying thank you.
“I remember a few of the nurses but the whole team was absolutely incredible, and I couldn’t possibly say a bad word about them.
“Their quick thinking and expertise saved my life, and they made me feel so reassured and cared for.”
Glenn had specialist counselling after the experience in October 2021 to help him process what happened, and still suffers from nightmares from his time in a coma. But otherwise, apart from having to take blood-thinning medication, he is fully recovered.
He said: “The counselling was really helpful and helped fill in the blanks that I don’t remember.
“It does still keep me awake at night thinking about what might have been, but because of their care I am still here and able to tell my story.
“I will forever be grateful to the staff and it’s a pleasure to be able to use my year as chairman to help by raising money.”
You can donate online at https://www.justgiving.com/page/denise-lucas-1681220953204 or find more information about the fundraising events on the club’s Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/servicesmanclub
What an uplifting piece.
It’s good to know that our NHS still comes up trumps.
Good luck with your fundraising!
Thank you Andrew, very kind of you. The staff of the NHS really are incredible.