EXCLUSIVE I was in so much pain I couldn't WALK but doctors simply sent me home with painkillers... and failed to diagnose condition that changed my life forever
When mother-of-one Alexandra Gerrard went to the accident and emergency department of Epsom Hospital, the pain was unimaginable.
The 34-year-old was in agony - so much so that she couldn't even walk.
But despite her suffering, NHS doctors told her she should take some painkillers and go home.
What they missed was a condition that changed the course of her life forever.
It all started when she was enjoying a well-deserved break in Miami, away from her job as a primary school worker.
She was walking down the road when she tripped over a hole, injuring her back. She had already been experiencing a 'niggling' feeling in her foot and had been seeing a chiropractor for pain in her back.
The fall made everything worse. When she returned home from the holiday, she slipped again - this time in the shower.
Alexandra said the pain was 'excruciating' and she 'could barely get in the car'.
But when she got to A&E, doctors didn't examine her. Instead, they gave her prescription for diazepam and told her to home.
'I just remember sitting in Epsom accident and emergency, with tears falling down my face because I couldn't actually get out of this wheelchair, with the prescription in my hand,' Alexandra said.
What the doctors had missed was that a tumour was creeping towards her spinal cord.
Doctors at a different hospital later told her she was in 'imminent risk of paralysis'.
Far from simply having a bit of temporary pain that could be fixed with some painkillers, Alexandra had stage four cancer. There were even cancerous cells in her liver and lungs.
Her first thought was of her eight-year-old son Thomas.
She said: 'It was like time stopped, like time stood still, and everything becomes really surreal.
'It's like everything is moving around you and you are frozen in this strange place, where you can hear what the doctors are saying but it's like a film where your head is running at a hundred million miles an hour.'
'The life you lived before is just shattered in an instant and you are left thinking, 'Wow. I quite possibly only have a few years left to live.
She added: 'I wasn't scared. I just felt a lot of sadness.
'I had to accept my lot and realise now I had to absolutely go and live the best available life that was available to me and my son,' she said.
'Every time I broached it he got so upset, and then he turned around and he said to me, ''Do you want to die or something?''
'And I was like, you know what? He's completely right. I'm focusing too much on the dying part of this.
'I knew that I was sort of like the primary rock in his world.
'I just had to get back to him, and we have to go and live and make amazing memories.'
She said the behaviour of Epsom's doctors was 'incredibly frustrating'.
Speaking of the moment she was sent home by Epsom's A&E doctors, Alexandra said: 'They just they turned me away with a diazepam prescription.
'They didn't take an X-Ray. They knew my medical history but they didn't do anything.
'They were like, ''What do you want us to do? We've discharged you from the system now''' and I thought, how am I even going to get myself to a chemist?'
Tragically for Alexandra, this is not the first time she has been diagnosed with a serious medical condition.
When she was just a teenager she had a chronic autoimmune disorder called mysathenia gravis, which causes muscles to be weak, especially in the eyes, face and throat.
She then went through six months of radiotherapy after an operation to remove an abnormal growth related to her condition.
Finally she thought she could live her life the way she wanted.
She moved to Canada and gave birth to her son.
But tragedy soon struck once again, as she was forced to return to the UK following her father Nick's terminal cancer diagnosis. Nick, a sound engineer on ITV's This Morning, passed away from a rare type of appendix cancer in 2018.
Three years later, in 2021, Alexandra went to the Royal Marsden Hospital when she noticed shooting pains in her chest following breastfeeding. Doctors said she had breast cancer.
Determined to find a solution so she could continue to watch her toddler grow into a young boy, Alexandra battled the cancer undergoing a single mastectomy and further chemotherapy when the cancer returned in her scar lining.
However, she won her fight with the disease in 2022. The single mother thought she could finally start to grow her family again with her new partner when this latest series of events took place.
Now her focus is on making sure Thomas gets to spend as much time with her as possible before she becomes too unwell to travel.
In their travels, she hopes to cultivate an ethos within him of caring about more than just material possessions.
'Its about the people you meet, the experiences, and with the right outlook life can look infinitely more beautiful,' she said.
'I really believe he chose me to be his mum and I feel so honoured that a soul would choose such a difficult path.
'I feel like he is saving my life.'
Describing the 'cancer club' as the 'worst' experience with the 'best people', she added: 'I was so humbled by all of these incredible people who I felt were gifted from the angels.
'The reality is we live in a very unsafe world, but when you have cancer, you're so confronted with the fragility of life, and how uncertain every tomorrow is.
'We are often caught up in all of the distractions of life that we forget there are beautiful moments in the mundane.
'Don't wait until you're dying to start living.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Western Telegraph
32 minutes ago
- Western Telegraph
Hospitals could run GP surgeries under NHS reforms
Wes Streeting said the forthcoming 10 year health plan would also see 'much of what's done in a hospital today, will be done on the high street'. But he stressed the Government was 'not embarking on another top-down reorganisation' of the health service. The plan is expected to be published in July. Speaking at the NHS ConfedExpo conference in Manchester, Mr Streeting said: 'The NHS should not be bound by traditional expectations of how services should be arranged. Nearly a quarter of a million off NHS waiting lists. Lowest level in two years. And the first time they've fallen in April in 17 years! Lots done, lots to do. We're delivering our Plan for Change. I won't rest until the job is done. — Wes Streeting (@wesstreeting) June 12, 2025 'I am open to our strongest acute trusts providing not just community services, as many already do, but also primary care. 'Whatever services will enable them to meet the needs of their patients in a more integrated and efficient way. 'Indeed, I would hope that those old-fashioned labels – acute, community – become increasingly meaningless. 'Likewise, there is no reason why successful GPs should not be able to run local hospitals, or why nurses should not be leading neighbourhood health services.' Mr Streeting talked about the 'jeopardy' facing the NHS, adding: 'Just as public satisfaction has plunged to its lowest level on record, major political parties have begun to question the very existence of a publicly funded universal healthcare system free at the point of need. 'And I can almost feel them willing us on to fail, because if all of us fail in our mission to turn the NHS around, the vultures on the populist rivals swoop in for the kill. 'The NHS is in a fight for its life but nothing I have experienced in my first 11 months in office have shaken my conviction or confidence that this is a fight we will win.' Meanwhile he spoke about the spending review, likening himself to the survivor in the popular book series, The Hunger Games. 'Yesterday's spending review was a vital moment on that journey,' he said. 'There have been broadly two sorts of reactions to this. The first, mainly from the media and the public – '£29 billion is a hell of a lot of money'; the second, mainly from our think tank friends – '£29 billion is nowhere near enough'. The truth is, both are right. 'It is objectively a substantial funding settlement that puts wind in our sails. But investment alone isn't enough. 'There is no fix to the NHS's problems that simply pours more money into a broken system. 'It is only through the combination of investment and reform that we will succeed in getting the NHS back on its feet and making make it fit for the future.' He told delegates at the conference: 'Despite my best efforts at the Cabinet yesterday morning before the spending review announcement, to put the blame on John Healey the Defence Secretary for the squeeze on other government departments, none of my colleagues were buying. 'In fact, one permanent secretary once referred to me as the Katniss Everdeen of The Hunger Games. 'We're a Labour Government – the NHS is all of our priorities, and there isn't a single person sat with me around the Cabinet table who doesn't value what you're doing, doesn't underestimate the scale of the task that we have ahead of us, and they are all rooting for us to succeed, every single one of them.' Commenting on the speech, Matthew Taylor, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, said: 'The Secretary of State is right that the divides between acute, primary, community are already being broken down, supported by the work of integrated care boards. 'Redesigning services is essential to the future of the NHS and many providers are already breaking down their traditional silos to offer patients truly personalised and integrated care.' He added: 'The extra funding announced at the spending review is very welcome and, as Mr Streeting says, it is both a lot of money and not enough. 'Many of our members have warned they will not hit the interim target, with only one in two confident they will achieve the 65% elective care interim target by March 2026. 'That is why redesigning services is so essential – the combination of investment and reform – so that we can achieve the Government's three ambitions.'
Wales Online
44 minutes ago
- Wales Online
'You want to kiss your newborn - I have heartbreaking reason why you never should'
'You want to kiss your newborn - I have heartbreaking reason why you never should' Violet-May Constantinou was diagnosed at just eight days old Hailey Riches and Dimitri Constantinou with baby daughter Lily (Image: Hailey Riches/SWNS ) A heartbroken mum is warning people not to kiss newborn babies after losing her daughter to a viral infection. Hailey Riches, 25, knew there was something wrong with Violet-May Constantinou after she refused to feed and had yellow skin. She was advised to take Violet to hospital as she "started getting worse". At eight days old it was found out from a series of tests that she had contracted neonatal herpes (HSV-1) - a serious infection in newborns caused by the herpes simplex virus (HSV). Violet was immediately given anti-viral medication, but her condition quickly deteriorated and she began to experience seizures. She was consequently taken to Southampton Hospital, where she was placed in intensive care. Doctors noticed the newborn was having acute liver failure and, despite being put on the highest priority in the UK for a liver transplant, she tragically died at one month old while still waiting. They told mum Hailey and dad Dimitri Constantinou, 30, they would never know where the herpes came from. Hailey and her fiancée have vowed to spread awareness for people with cold sores, or those prone to the virus, to keep away from newborn babies. Hailey said: "I do see it online many times people saying 'but why can't we kiss a baby?' when it is not their baby - it frustrates me because of having gone through this situation. Article continues below "This is why you have to be slightly protective and be aware. If you have got a cold sore don't go near a baby because it is deadly and can kill them. "This is not to scare new mums or pregnant women. It is to say if you are not feeling right in yourself and if the baby is not feeling right then to be persistent and get it checked." Violet-May in hospital (Image: Hailey Riches/SWNS ) Hailey added: "I don't have genital herpes, none of my family or myself had a cold sore outbreak. They said it is most likely from an outsource, but they are not sure who. "Anyone can spread the virus without even knowing. Even if you have got no symptoms you might still pass it on." Hailey, who works as a speciality coordinator for the NHS, said she had a "normal" pregnancy and gave birth via an emergency caesarean on March 22, 2023. Despite the newborn seeming "fine and well" once the family returned home mum Hailey noticed that Violet started to feed less, looking fatigued and had yellow skin. A health visitor advised Hailey to take her to Worthing Hospital - where she was checked with a jaundice machine. The newborn was sent home, but everything "started to get worse", explained Hailey. At eight days old, Violet was still having troubles feeding, so Hailey took her back into hospital, where a nurse discovered she had a high temperature. At that point mum Hailey was admitted with sepsis. This led to blood checks and a lumber puncture, which revealed that Violet had neonatal herpes (HSV-1) - a serious infection in newborns caused by the herpes simplex virus (HSV). It can be contracted before, during, or after birth. Type 1 (HSV-1) is mostly spread by oral contact through kissing, sharing drinks or utensils, and causes infections in or around the mouth, like cold sores. Violet was immediately given anti-viral medication, but her condition quickly deteriorated, and she began to experience seizures. On April 1, she was taken to Southampton Hospital where she was placed in intensive care. Violet-May with yellowing skin in hospital (Image: Hailey Riches/SWNS ) Hailey, of Billingshurst, Sussex, said: "The doctors said that we will be lucky to see her survive the next 24 to 48 hours. She was deteriorating further and then they decided to flew her by helicopter to King's College Hospital in London because they realised she was having acute liver failure." Hailey said: "It was absolutely traumatising. The worst time of our family's life - I don't think our family has ever gone through such a traumatic time. "Every day something was happening and she was deteriorating further - it affected her brain, her lungs, she then had a cardiac arrest at one point where we watched her being resuscitated for nine minutes. It just got worse and worse and it was time to say goodbye at the end." To their happiness on August 16, 2024, Hayley and her fiancé welcomed daughter Lily into the world. But Hailey explained she was "terrified" during the first months of giving birth following her experience with Violet. Hailey Riches and Dimitri Constantinou with baby daughter Violet-May in hospital (Image: Hailey Riches/SWNS ) She said: "I had consultants telling me the first six weeks are crucial to protect her because they have no immune system. I had always said to people no kissing, wash your hands when you come in or if you want to hold her. We were very protective because of the situation we went through. Article continues below Hailey concluded: "Thank you to Southampton General Hospital, the Pediatric Unit and Ronald McDonald charity who accommodated us in Southampton and London during these tragic times."
North Wales Chronicle
an hour ago
- North Wales Chronicle
Council tax bills set to rise at fastest rate for two decades, economist warns
Paul Johnson said that local government in England did 'perhaps a little bit better than it might have expected' out of the Chancellor's statement on Wednesday, but the 'sting in the tail' is the assumption that 'council tax bills will rise by 5% a year' as part of the funding. The core spending power of councils is set to increase by 2.6% a year from next year, and 'if English councils do choose 5% increases – and most almost certainly will – council tax bills look set to rise at their fastest rate over any parliament since 2001-05', Mr Johnson said on Thursday. On Wednesday, Ms Reeves said that ministers will not be 'going above' the 5% annual increases in council tax. She told ITV: 'The previous government increased council tax by 5% a year, and we have stuck to that. We won't be going above that. 'That is the council tax policy that we inherited from the previous government, and that we will be continuing.' The biggest winner from Wednesday's statement was the NHS, which will see its budget rise by £29 billion per year in real terms. Ruth Curtice, the chief executive of the Resolution Foundation, has said that Britain is turning into a 'National Health State'. Overnight, the think tank said Ms Reeves' announcements had followed a recent trend that saw increases for the NHS come at the expense of other public services. Ms Curtice said: 'Health accounted for 90% of the extra public service spending, continuing a trend that is seeing the British state morph into a National Health State, with half of public service spending set to be on health by the end of the decade.' Defence was another of Wednesday's winners, Ms Curtice said, receiving a significant increase in capital spending while other departments saw an overall £3.6 billion real-terms cut in investment. The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) made similar arguments about 'substantial' investment in the NHS and defence coming at the expense of other departments, although Mr Johnson warned on Wednesday the money may not be enough. In his snap reaction to the review, Mr Johnson said: 'Aiming to get back to meeting the NHS 18-week target for hospital waiting times within this Parliament is enormously ambitious – an NHS funding settlement below the long-run average might not measure up. 'And on defence, it's entirely possible that an increase in the Nato spending target will mean that maintaining defence spending at 2.6% of GDP no longer cuts the mustard.' Ms Curtice added that low and middle-income families had also done well out of the spending review 'after two rounds of painful tax rises and welfare cuts', with the poorest fifth of families benefiting from an average of £1,700 in extra spending on schools, hospitals and the police. She warned that, without economic growth, another round of tax rises was likely to come in the autumn as the Chancellor seeks to balance the books. She said: 'The extra money in this spending review has already been accounted for in the last forecast. 'But a weaker economic outlook and the unfunded changes to winter fuel payments mean the Chancellor will likely need to look again at tax rises in the autumn.' Speaking after delivering her spending review, Ms Reeves insisted she would not have to raise taxes to cover her spending review. She told GB News: 'Every penny of this is funded through the tax increases and the changes to the fiscal rules that we set out last autumn.' Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch described rising health spending as a 'conundrum', with a similar approach having been taken 'again and again' as she spoke at a business conference in central London on Thursday morning. In reference to a pro-Brexit campaign stunt, Mrs Badenoch said: 'I mean, who remembers the side of a red bus that said 'we're going to give the NHS £350 million more a week'? 'Many people don't know that we did that. We did do that, and yet, still we're not seeing the returns. 'We've put more and more money in, and we're getting less and less out.' The Government have not explained how and why the NHS will be better as a result of its spending plans, the Tory leader added, and claimed the public know 'we need to start talking about productivity reforms, public sector reforms'.
