Bizarre decision by hospital could PROVE killer nurse Lucy Letby was being used as scapegoat for failings, claims expert
The neonatal ward at Countess of Chester Hospital (COCH) was experiencing a major spike in premature infant deaths in 2015, which tailed off dramatically when it was stopped from receiving the highest risk patients the following summer.
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Lucy Letby was convicted of the murder of seven babies and the attempted murder of seven more
Credit: PA
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A grab from footage of the serial baby killer's arrest
Credit: PA
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The deaths occurred between 2015 and 2016
Credit: Getty
Monster Letby, 35, is serving a whole life order in prison for the murder of seven infants and the attempted murder of seven more at COCH between June 2015 and June 2016.
Professor Richard Gill, a statistical misrepresentation consultant who has helped overturn the murder convictions of two other nurses, is convinced convicted murderer Letby was an unlucky scapegoat.
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He is among an increasing number of supporters who believe Letby to be innocent, and has been pushing for a retrial - although many others, including the victims' families, have blasted the campaign to free her.
He believes the failure to move such patients to more suitable hospitals could prove vital in any potentially successful appeal against her convictions.
And thinks clinical audits being undertaken could be a reason why Liverpool Women's Hospital did not take them, despite its neonatal unit being graded much higher.
COCH's Neonatal Intensive Care Unit was graded at level 2 at the time. Guidelines generally advise any such facility treating the most seriously ill babies should be at level 3.
In fact, COCH's neonatal unit was downgraded again to level 1 by hospital management in July 2016, 'due to concerns about increasing neonatal mortality', ahead of an inquiry by the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH).
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The unit's lead neonatologist, Dr Stephen Brearey, had asked management to remove killer Letby from clinical duties the previous month, pending an investigation into her conduct.
She wouldn't be arrested until 2018. Dr Breary was suspicious of the nurse in 2015 and accused the hospital of negligence for ignoring his concerns, according to reports in 2023.
The downgrade limited the premature babies that it took into its care to those born at 32 weeks' gestation or over, an age where the medical complications and risks were much lower.
How Dutch Lucy Letby who was CLEARED over murder of seven patients, including babies, is 'key to freeing jailed nurse'
And, as a result, the spike in baby deaths also tailed off - pointing to overall inability to provide complex care properly being a reason for deaths and not a single nurse, claims Prof Gill.
Seven of the babies Letby was convicted of murdering or attempting to murder were either a twin or a triplet, all extremely ill and at higher risk of complications, and so ideally in need of complex level 3 care.
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Speaking to The Sun, Prof Gill said the babies should have been 'transferred immediately' to a more specialised environment, including that at Liverpool Women's Hospital (LWH), where some had initially been monitored during pregnancy.
'It was hopeless,' he said. 'Chester was receiving babies that should have been born at a level 3 hospital. The doctors there did not have the experience.'
Prof Gill said it is not clear why the babies were admitted to or remained at COCH.
Two of the seven babies Letby was convicted of murdering - Child O and Child P - were from a brood of extremely rare identical triplets whose mum had received at least some antenatal care at LWH before giving birth at COCH.
According to medical summaries, released post-trial as part of an independent expert review, some appeared to be developing issues that only multiple babies sharing a single placenta experience, in that the blood was not being shared evenly to each sibling during the pregnancy, called twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome (TTTS).
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'It puts them at incredibly high risk,' said Prof Gill.
He described LWH as 'one of the best places in the world to have twins and triplets', adding: 'Why did the doctors allow that mother to have those babies at Chester? They should not have been born there.'
Last year, the Thirlwall Inquiry investigated issues at the hospital during the period of Letby's spree to determine if management could have done more to stop her crimes.
In the lead up to the probe, reports of concerns about the alarming shortcomings at COCH included unusually high death rates on the neonatal unit, as well as understaffed and under skilled staff, and a unit "out of its depth",
In a transcript from the Thirlwall Inquiry, led by senior court of appeal judge Lady Justice Thirlwall, a witness statement from the mum of triplets O and P, as well surviving brother R, said she was only told she was having triplets in the 12th week of her pregnancy.
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Letby tried to get an inquiry into the circumstances around the baby deaths suspended
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The killer nurse has twice failed to appeal her convictions
Credit: SWNS
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A court sketch of Letby during her trial at Manchester Crown Court last year
Credit: PA
She was scanned at COCH as it was "more convenient" for her, but was then referred to LWH by her consultant for a second scan - though they were happy to care for her at COCH long-term, adding: "They could refer back to LWH if there were any problems along the way."
The mum went on say: "At LWH I was told that one of the triplets was a little smaller than the other two, and as all three triplets were sharing one placenta.
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"I was given the option of having the smaller triplet's heartbeat stopped to give the two others a better chance of survival. We decided against this and to let things be."
She added: "I did not actually expect our babies to be born at COCH, I was explicitly told throughout my pregnancy that they would be born there only if there was a nurse and a bed for each baby.
"I was told that for this reason, it was very unlikely that I would actually have them at the COCH. I was warned by consultants that it was likely that we would have to travel to another hospital.
"We were told that this could be Birmingham or London, but we had to be ready to go anywhere."
However, the mum said it was only when she went into labour that she was told she would be giving birth at COCH, being assured "there were enough nurses and beds" to deliver her babies.
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She said consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist Jim McCormack assured her she would be able to look around the hospital's neonatal unit, but "in the event" this was "put off and I was not given the opportunity to look around and see the unit".
"We were told that the probability of us being there would be low.
"That said, we had not experienced a Neonatal Unit before so we had nothing to compare it with anyway.
The charges Letby has been convicted of in full
Child A, allegation of murder. The Crown said Letby injected air intravenously into the bloodstream of the baby boy.
COUNT 1 GUILTY
.
Child B, allegation of attempted murder. The Crown said Letby attempted to murder the baby girl, the twin sister of Child A, by injecting air into her bloodstream.
COUNT 2 GUILTY
.
Child C, allegation of murder. Prosecutors said Letby forced air down a feeding tube and into the stomach of the baby boy.
COUNT 3 GUILTY
.
Child D, allegation of murder. The Crown said air was injected intravenously into the baby girl.
COUNT 4 GUILTY
.
Child E, allegation of murder. The Crown said Letby murdered the twin baby boy with an injection of air into the bloodstream and also deliberately caused bleeding to the infant.
COUNT 5 GUILTY
.
Child F, allegation of attempted murder. Letby was said by prosecutors to have poisoned the twin brother of Child E with insulin.
COUNT 6 GUILTY
.
Child I, allegation of murder. The prosecution said Letby killed the baby girl at the fourth attempt and had given her air and overfed her with milk.
COUNT 12 GUILTY.
Child K, allegation of attempted murder. The prosecution said Letby compromised the baby girl as she deliberately dislodged a breathing tube.
COUNT 14 JURY COULD NOT REACH VERDICT
AT ORIGINAL TRIAL, NOW GUILTY
AFTER RETRIAL
Child L, allegation of attempted murder. The Crown said the nurse poisoned the twin baby boy with insulin.
COUNT 15 GUILTY.
Child M, allegation of attempted murder. Prosecutors said Letby injected air into the bloodstream of Child L's twin brother.
COUNT 16 GUILTY.
Child N, three allegations of attempted murder. The Crown said Letby inflicted trauma in the baby boy's throat and also injected him with air in the bloodstream.
COUNT 17 GUILTY, COUNT 18 JURY COULD NOT REACH VERDICT, COUNT 19 JURY COULD NOT REACH VERDICT.
Child O, allegation of murder. Prosecutors say Letby attacked the triplet boy by injecting him with air, overfeeding him with milk and inflicting trauma to his liver with "severe force".
COUNT 20 GUILTY.
Child P, allegation of murder. Prosecutors said the nurse targeted the triplet brother of Child O by overfeeding him with milk, injecting air and dislodging his breathing tube.
COUNT 21 GUILTY.
Child Q, allegation of attempted murder. The Crown said Letby injected the baby boy with liquid, and possibly air, down his feeding tube.
COUNT 22 JURY COULD NOT REACH VERDICT
"I was given to understand throughout my pregnancy that on delivery the babies would need to go to the Neonatal Unit as a precaution due to the risk factors that come with a triplet pregnancy and them having to be born at 34 weeks."
When she started having contractions at home she was rushed to COCH but described how, despite her condition, she had to walk from the observation room to the labour ward to theatre to undergo a cesarean section - even asked to climb into bed herself.
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The mum added it was "very disappointing" that Dr McCormack, who had performed all of her scans, was on holiday and unable to deliver her babies.
She was awake during the delivery, which she described as feeling "very rushed", and at one stage, after being cut open, she could feel pain.
She described how "blood and fluid splattered up" onto the screen, the wall behind her and "onto my face".
At one stage, she said it was hurting but was told "I don't think that is hurting, it's pulling".
Later in her statement, the mum described doctors initially had "no concerns" about the babies, despite being so premature, and recalls Letby looking after two of them and showing her partner how to feed all three triplets.
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"She told us how lucky we were and that their weights were great," she added. Letby also showed the mum how to "express milk", and added her babies were separated as there was a shortage of beds in the neonatal unit.
While staying in the maternity ward, the mum was told by a doctor Child O needed breathing support and she was taken to neonatal unit to see him.
"We were confronted with a scene of complete chaos. It was madness," she said. "Nurses were running around left and right grabbing medicines and IVs.
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Lady Justice Thirlwall, who led an inquiry into possible failings at Countess of Chester last year
Credit: PA
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Letby during her police interview in 2018
Credit: Derbyshire Constabulary
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Prof Richard Gill is convinced Letby is innocent
"As soon as I went in, I knew it was an issue with one of the boys. When Doctor U saw what was going on, it was obvious he didn't have any idea what was happening and I could see in his face that he was panicked and shocked."
She added: "It was clear Child O's collapse was a complete shock to them."
The mum said Letby was on the ward at the time and was handing doctors medicine. Child O died later that evening, and his brother Child P, died the following afternoon.
During Letby's trial, it was heard the father of the triplets "begged" doctors to transfer his surviving son to LWH and they eventually agreed, and his health quickly recovered.
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Earlier this year, an international panel of neonatologists and paediatric specialists
Their evidence has been passed to the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC), which investigates potential miscarriages of justice, and Letby's legal team hopes her case will be referred back to the Court of Appeal.
Neena Modi, Professor of neonatal medicine at Imperial College London, was part of the panel and told The Guardian in February Chester's neonatal unit was 'not staffed or equipped to deal with the most seriously ill babies'.
She went on to say: 'What transpired was that the consultants and other neonatal staff were faced with having to provide care for complex neonatal cases outside their experience.
I watched arrogant Lucy Letby as she simmered in the dock & saw chilling evidence that proves she IS an evil baby killer
By Nigel Bunyan
IN the eyes of the law she's a cold-blooded serial killer who murdered seven babies and tried to kill seven others at the hospital where she worked during a year-long reign of terror.
But doubts over
The killer nurse, 35, is serving 15 whole-life orders in prison for the murder of seven babies between 2015 and 2016 at Countess of Chester hospital.
She was also
Last week Reform leader Nigel Farage said there were 'serious questions' about the case which have left him with a 'horrible feeling' Letby might have been a 'very convenient scapegoat' and should be retried.
Meanwhile Conservative MP David Davis is convinced her conviction is a 'clear miscarriage of justice'.
But earlier this month it emerged Letby
Nigel Bunyan has been a journalist for more than four decades and covered the trials of GP Harold Shipman, the child killers of James Bulger, and the
He attended Lucy Letby's main trial and the retrial that followed.
As her case attracts more scrutiny than ever before, here Nigel details why he believes "beyond doubt" that she IS guilty, and that justice prevailed.
..
IN the make-believe, boxset world of Netflix, Disney+ and the like, Lucy Letby just HAS to be innocent!
A prominent Tory MP has said so. So too has Letby's shiny new defence barrister and a group of international experts who've rallied, unbidden, to her cause, without having been anywhere near either trial.
The only catch is that in the real world – the one not liberally sprinkled with fairy dust theories of perceived innocence – Letby is the real deal.
She actually IS a nailed-on serial killer of tiny, defenceless babies.
After attending her trial - and the retrial that followed it - I have no doubt whatsoever of her guilt.
She is serving a whole life term for seven murders and seven attempted murders after being found guilty not just by one jury – but by TWO.
Sadly, serial killers don't come with an identifying mark on their foreheads. And they don't always confess.
But I watched every moment of her evidence at Manchester Crown Court, looking for some spark of authenticity, of humanity; something to make me doubt the prosecution case.
I looked in vain. All I could see was a defendant standing behind a blank, unyielding wall of denials.
She was a woman shielding herself with simmering resentment, sullen in the dock and equally so when giving evidence.
Dr
By the time Letby was called to give evidence we'd already seen the now-infamous Post-it notes she scribbled in the bedroom of her house around the corner from the Countess of Chester hospital where she committed her crimes.
'I am evil. I did this,' she'd written. 'I killed them on purpose because I'm not good enough to care for them (and) I am a horrible person.'
Her supporters looked to other lines that could be interpreted as indicators of innocence. 'I haven't done anything wrong,' for example. And, 'Why me?'
For all that the evidence against Letby was largely – and inevitably - circumstantial, taken as a whole it was totally convincing on all but a few of the charges.
It's one thing to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, but in her case that happened far too many times.
Her colleagues who saw her as a friend didn't want to 'think the unthinkable' - that she was the enemy within - but eventually they had no option.
It wasn't just the statistical oddities about her presence; it was an innate feeling of unease among those who had once trusted her without question.
Far too many babies were collapsing on the unit for there to be any other explanation than sabotage by a member of staff. And there were no other suspects.
For me, the case finally fell into place as I spent long nights compiling a 17,000-word timeline.
Suddenly, for all the woolliness of the case as it unfolded in court, I could see how Letby had moved so deftly in the shadows, aided by her colleagues' understandable reluctance to believe ill of her.
Many of them counted her as a friend, and when she broke down in apparent distress over the infants dying on her watch, they instinctively reached out in support.
Letby's cynical manipulation is typified by the very first of her killings: one day volunteering to take group selfies during a colleague's hen-do in York, the next injecting Baby A with air 90 minutes after coming back on duty in Chester.
Before the jury reached their verdict I knew what it should be.
And the court of social media who protest her innocence may have taken a different view if they had seen all the evidence, as I have.
During the trial a chilling image was shown to the jury: the X-ray of one of the dead babies, showing a line of what could only be air running parallel to his spine.
And the only explanation for that air was for it to have been forced into the infant's system. Which is how Lucy Letby achieved something that the reviewing paediatrician Sandie Bohin had never previously seen in neonates – she made some of them scream.
Had the prosecution found the courage to release that image some doubters may be silenced.
But the CPS refused, saying it formed part of an individual's medical records.
Medical expertise
Much has been made of the international panel of medical experts drawn together by Letby's new barrister, Mark McDonald.
But it is hugely significant that Ben Myers, the lawyer who led her defence in both trials, made the very deliberate decision NOT to call ANY of the medical experts he had briefed on the case.
In fact, the only defence witness aside from Letby was Lorenzo Mansutti, a plumber, who spoke briefly about drainage problems at the Countess.
Myers' reasoning was clearly tactical, perhaps made because he doubted the ability of those potential witnesses to counter the allegations that Letby harmed babies mostly with injections of air or insulin.
Any future appeal is likely to fall short unless McDonald can come up with a satisfactory answer to Myers' decision.
Ultimately the jury was swayed by the assertion of Nick Johnson KC, the lead prosecutor, that Letby had been caught out by 'a constellation of coincidences' that had no other plausible explanation.
For all the protests to the contrary, I don't believe for one second that Letby was set up as a scapegoat.
She was simply found out by colleagues who finally realised she was the killer in their midst.
Almost two years on, we now have the prospect of Letby facing a third trial.
On top of that three members of the leadership team at the Countess were arrested last week on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter and may yet face trial themselves.
And then there is the Thirlwall Inquiry into the killer's activities and the conduct of NHS personnel at the time. It's due to report next year.
So all in all, overwhelmingly bad news for those wearing yellow butterfly emblems in support of their fake heroine.
Genuine miscarriages of justice do occur. Of course they do. But they're extremely rare.
Years ago, for example, I wrote about Stefan Kiszko, who was exonerated over a murder he couldn't possibly have committed.
But Letby? I just don't see it.
More than that, I abhor the white noise repeatedly being drummed up in her name - often by people who should know better - while Letby herself remains silent; brooding in HMP Prison Bronzefield, Surrey.
For me, as for the families, hers is a name that speaks only of sickening cruelty and betrayal.
As one of the mums said recently: 'You don't want to see her face, you don't want to hear her name, you don't want to hear people shouting that she's innocent.
"She's not innocent, she was found guilty in a court of law."
'Their contemporaneous notes in the babies' case records reveal errors in the recognition of problems and their management.'
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Around the time of the Letby crimes, Prof Gill told The Sun some mothers going through high-risk pregnancies would have also been part of clinical audits and trials at various hospitals, including testing the now-standard usage of laser treatment 'to fix the blood flow' in a uterus carrying multiple babies at risk of TTTS.
In LWH's Quality Report 2015-2016, it states: "During 2015-16 Liverpool Women's NHS Foundation Trust participated in 100% of national clinical audits and 100% of national confidential enquiries of the national clinical audits and national confidential enquiries which it was eligible to participate in."
It added: 'The total monetary value of the income in 2015-16 conditional upon achieving quality improvement and innovation goals was £1,977,598. The monetary total for the associated payment in 2014-15 was £1,955,007.'
It is unclear if any of the triplets, or Letby's other victims, saw their treatment directly impacted due to any kind of clinical audit or procedures, which would include the much-publicised National Maternity and Perinatal Audit.
But it's possible that, any one of these may have impacted how many high risk pregnancies were dealt with at Liverpool, claims Prof Gill.
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In June 2015, the same month as the first deaths in Letby's rampage, MBRRACE-UK, the national body which collects data on perinatal mortality, showed LWH had made significant strides in reducing stillbirth and neonatal mortality rates.
Specifically, their stillbirth rate was rated 10% below the national average.
Prof Gill went on to say: 'If you have twins or triplets who have a very poor outlook then you might prefer that they died somewhere else.
'Now that's a very serious allegation, I don't think that. I mention it, and one might think that.
'I would rather think that out of some rules in their protocol that they were reserving beds for patients they could treat because that would give them good results.
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'As a consequence, more babies got treated elsewhere than usual. I'm sure there is an honest explanation for that. But it is really weird.'
He added: 'My feeling is this would all need to be looked into if Lucy Letby is ever exonerated and there is an inquiry into what went wrong.'
A spokesperson at the Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust said: 'Due to the Thirlwall Inquiry and the ongoing police investigations, it would not be appropriate to comment further at this time.'
NHS England did not wish to comment when approached.
The Sun has also contacted Liverpool Womens NHS Foundation Trust but had not received a response before publication.
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"I used to watch her on the live stream and I could see she was having fun but I also knew when the s**t was going to hit the fan. I could predict it when she was heading for a meltdown. I'd think 'Christ here we go' and all of a sudden she'd let rip." 16 Nikki won a National TV Award for her appearance on Big Brother in 2006 Credit: Rex 16 Mum Sue with Nikki as a baby Credit: David Cummings Advertisement 16 Sue said she vowed to always support Nikki through her illness Credit: David Cummings After Big Brother, Nikki enjoyed the fame the show brought and would travel the country doing appearances, even landing herself a magazine column. She entered the Big Brother house a total of five times, including the Canadian version. When TV work dried up, she moved to Nice, France where she worked in a Hard Rock Cafe branch, and learnt to speak French. Advertisement After moving back to London, she went back to college to try and get her Maths and English GCSE and got a job in a local junior school as a teaching assistant. Sue said that in the years after Big Brother "she held her own" in her battle against anorexia, but Covid exacerbated her condition. Nikki would walk on to a ward and want to be the skinniest anorexic in there. I would despair Sue Grahame 'She had a flat with a gym so she wouldn't come and stay with me during Covid, but then they closed the gym and so she spent £900 on a cross trainer," Sue said. 'I used to illegally drive up to London because she was so isolated. Advertisement 'And while I was there she'd get on this cross trainer obsessively and I'd beg her to stop. I'd say, 'I don't want to lose you' and she'd say 'I'm not going anywhere. I said, 'Yeah that's what Karen Carpenter said'. 'Covid definitely didn't help Nikki, but I can't help feeling she'd already thrown the towel in. 'Because for months before, we'd be walking. I'd turn around, she'd be on the floor. Her legs would just gave way. 'Her body was packing up. She had been starved for so long. She never even had periods. Advertisement "I don't think she was ever meant to make old bones in this world." 16 Big Brother gave Nikki the chance to travel the country doing PAs and writing magazine columns Credit: PA 16 Nikki with her friend Imogen Thomas Credit: INSTAGRAM/IMOGEN THOMAS 16 Mum Sue was pleased to see Nikki enjoy life after her difficult childhood Credit: David Cummings Advertisement 16 Sue said life has been tough since Nikki's death but she's trying hard to heal Credit: David Cummings In the weeks before her death, both Sue and social services tried to encourage Nikki to become an inpatient again but she refused. Instead she decided to travel to her mum's in Dorset, stopping on the way at a pharmacy to pick up her meds. 'She was only 10 minutes away when she passed out in the pharmacy, hit her head on the floor and they had to blue light her in to Dorchester hospital," Sue said. Advertisement 'She was in there for two weeks and I went in every day for the two weeks because it was just a regular ward, not an eating disorder unit and I wanted to take the weight off of the nurses because she needed supervising. 'If they brought her food, it would either go down the toilet or in the bin or out the window. 'I moved into a Premier Inn so that I could just walk there each day and I used to shower her and and watch her eat her meals. 'The mental health team said there was an eating disorders unit but it only had six beds and they were full. That might have made the difference. Advertisement I have never been loved as much as Nikki loved me Sue Grahame 'The nurses at the hospital were quite aggressive with her. Maybe they resented her. No one ever has any patience for anorexics. 'Her BMI was dangerously low. She was just skin and bones. She was pitiful to look at. "Then this nurse came in and said 'This isn't the place for you. This is a surgical ward. Nikki if you can walk up and down those steps outside there you can go home tomorrow. 'And I looked at her and the state Nikki was in and I couldn't believe it." Advertisement Final journey Nikki was discharged from hospital later that day alone and took a taxi to her flat in London. 'She rang me from the taxi and said 'Hi Mum, I'm on my way home'. She was so weak, I couldn't believe they'd discharged her," Sue said. "She told me she really needed the toilet and the poor thing had an accident in the taxi she was so ill. I told her to get her friend to come over when she was at home and help her clean up and then I'd come over in the morning. 'Then she rang me up half three that morning. She used to do that a lot but it was usually when she was out clubbing. Advertisement 'She said 'My friend came around and she helped me in the bath and put me in my jimmy jammies and then she saw me into bed, but I just wanted to tell you that I'm coping all right. ''I've just got up and been to the loo by myself on my walker.' 'I said, 'Every day take it slowly, you're not in a hurry, you'll get there. 'She said, 'Mum I'm tired. I love you.' I told her to go to bed and that I loved her." Advertisement Nikki died that same morning. Sue was on a train on her way to London when Nikki's friend called her and broke the news. 'Goodbye darling' She rushed to Nikki's flat, where she said her final goodbye. 'I just lay on the bed with Nikki and cried," she said. Advertisement 'The worst thing was watching the undertakers come and put her in a body bag and taking her out. 'I went down in the lift with them and we got to the outside door and I said 'Which side is her head?' 'They said it's up there. I just stroked the bag from the outside and said 'Goodbye darling'. It's awful, awful. I'll never get over it. It was the worst day of my life." Sue said she blames the hospital for Nikki's death and even looked into taking legal action but no law firm would take the case. Advertisement She believes it was irresponsible for them to discharge her when she "couldn't even bathe herself or dress herself" and says she should have been transferred to a mental health unit. 'Even if I'd have taken it to court and won, I didn't want the money," Sue said. "I wanted things to change. Maybe I would have tried to get a unit built somewhere that would help others with anorexia. 'That nurse shouldn't have said, 'If you walk up and down the stairs, you can leave', because she clearly wasn't well enough to leave the hospital. If that's a rule, it shouldn't be. Advertisement 'Nikki died on a Saturday morning. And I was walking my dog on the Monday morning when that same nurse rang. She was crying and she said, 'I'm so, so sorry. She shouldn't have gone home.' 'They shouldn't have let her home just because she put a bit of pressure on. She didn't know what was best for her." Signs and symptoms of anorexia if you're under 18, your weight and height being lower than expected for your age if you're an adult, having an unusually low body mass index missing meals, eating very little or avoiding eating any foods you see as fattening believing you are fat when you are a healthy weight or underweight taking medication to reduce your hunger (appetite suppressants) your periods stopping (in women who have not reached menopause) or not starting (in younger women and girls) physical problems, such as feeling dizzy, dry skin and hair loss Four years on from Nikki's April 2021 death, Sue says she's still struggling emotionally. She has relocated from Dorset and lives in East Sussex with her chihuahua Joey. Advertisement Just two months ago, she suffered another heartbreak when she had to have Baby, Nikki's chihuahua who she had cared for since before her death, put to sleep aged 19. 'Until the day I take my last breath I won't get over Nikki's loss," she said. 'Nothing in this world scares me anymore because the worst possible thing has happened. "Life is tough, but since I came down here I'm trying extremely hard. I've made a couple of really good friends. Advertisement 'But I have to say I have never been loved as much as Nikki loved me. And it wasn't because I was a pushover, it was because from day one of her illness I was fighting for her. 'I try and be philosophical because at the end of the day, she was mine for 38 years. How lucky was I? And people still write lovely things about her. They still love her. 'She wasn't everybody's cup of tea but for me she was very special. And even if I died tomorrow, I know I was truly loved in my life, and that's something not everybody can say." Advertisement If you or a loved one is struggling with an eating disorder, the charity Beat offers support, call the helpline on 0808 801 0677
The Irish Sun
4 days ago
- The Irish Sun
Terminally ill James Whale, 74, ‘feels happy to go now' after moving to a hospice
TERMINALLY ill James Whale has heartbreakingly admitted he feels "happy to go now" after moving into a hospice. The broadcaster, 74, previously confessed he "probably won't be here next week" after re-locating to the end of life facility. 6 James Whale has issued an emotional update amid his terminal cancer battle Credit: Instagram/@jameswhaleradio 6 The broadcaster told how he is 'at peace' and 'ready to go now' after moving into a hospice Credit: X/@THEJamesWhale 6 He was diagnosed with kidney cancer back in 2020 Credit: PA James has terminal kidney cancer and recently celebrated his "last birthday" surrounded by loved ones after stopping his treatment. Back in May, the TALK radio host revealed his long-running programme could be coming to an end as he reached the final stage of his battle. James was first diagnosed with kidney cancer back in 2020 yet the disease then spread to his brain, lungs and spine. He has now admitted he "feels at peace" in his new facility after being told he has weeks to live. The charity fundraiser wrote in a new newspaper column: "What's surprised me most is how much better in myself I feel since finally moving into a hospice near my home in Kent a week or so back." He added in his peace for the Daily Express: "I began to feel better immediately. More positive. "I feel at peace here, even though I'm not a religious person. "I know I've reached the end of my life but I'm quite sanguine about it. "Despite everything, I'm happy to go now and a lot of that is due to the people who work here, because they make dying as peaceful and pain-free as possible." TalkTV's James Whale shares emotional cancer battle update as he says 'I haven't got much longer' in heartbreaking video One of the country's most revered radio personalities, James has been in the business for 50 years and, in 2023, received the first ever TRIC Recognition Award for his outstanding work. He's helped countless others too, having launched the James Whale Fund for Kidney Cancer in 2006 - now known as Kidney Cancer UK - the nation's leading specialist charity of its kind, after beating the illness two decades ago. He then urged fans to support the hospice as he outlined the range of activities they plan for guests. SAD UPDATES Back in 2023, James told how he planned to have two funerals - so he could attend one of them. Yet last month he gave a worrying update as he admitted he was struggling to talk and breathe. Speaking on his podcast Tales of the Whales alongside his co-host wife Nadine in July, they spoke about his conditions. He also admitted his speech has become very slow and he is forgetful, while suffering with painful pressure sores. On the emotional recording, he said: "I can't breathe, I can't think, I can't talk. "Anyway. Good morning. Welcome to Tales of the Whales, our weekly podcast. I have terminal 5 cancer. Can you get 5?" Nadine explained: 'You're getting quite tired, so from next week, we're restricting visitors to just very close friends and family.' He added: 'The most tiring thing I found… I still can't hear very well, which is more frustrating than anything else. "I've become very slow in my speech and then forgetful and everything else." Talking about his pressure sores he said: 'I'm tootling along, which is all you can do really, trying to get my breathing sorted and the mark on my bum.' He humbly asked: "People have to go through a lot worse, don't they? Do they?" The poignant conversation concluded: "Anyway. I don't feel I can go on much more... "The other thing is, my energy levels have gone completely. "So I wish everybody well, and let us hope we go through these phases as quickly as we can." 6 He moved into the Kent hospice last month Credit: x/TalkTV 6 In his podcast with wife Nadine, he told how he had difficulties breathing Credit: Rex
The Irish Sun
5 days ago
- The Irish Sun
Girl, 2, whose life was saved by new liver as a baby, wins silver medal at British Transplant Games
Laura's best friend Naedean Marshall donated part of her liver to save Myla MEDAL FOR MYLA Girl, 2, whose life was saved by new liver as a baby, wins silver medal at British Transplant Games A TWO-year-old whose life was saved by a new liver as a baby has scooped a silver medal at the British Transplant Games. Myla Duffey, pictured preparing with her mum, below, grabbed second place in her obstacle race event. 4 Two-year-old Myla Duffey, pictured with mum Laura, won a silver medal at the British Transplant Games Credit: Jon Bond 4 Laura's best friend Naedean Marshall donated part of her liver to save Myla It was a proud moment for parents Laura and Liam Duffey, both 31, who were told their daughter might not live to see her first birthday after she was born with damaged bile ducts. Myla's only hope of survival was a transplant so Laura's best friend, Naedean Marshall, donated part of her liver. Laura, of Stirling, central Scotland, said at the venue in Abingdon, Oxon: 'It was such a shock when we were told what was wrong with her. "We didn't know what the future was going to hold. 'It was terrifying. "They told us that without a transplant, Myla wouldn't live to see her first birthday. 'We couldn't believe it when Naedean said she was willing to help. 'I will never be able to repay her for what she has done for Myla - she's a true life hero." Laura added: 'Watching her being presented with her silver medal was an amazing moment.' My 2-year-old son needs a liver and bowel transplant to live and it's a horrible thought to loose a child but we need to talk about organ donation 4 Parents Laura and Liam Duffey were told their daughter might not live to see her first birthday Credit: Jon Bond 4 Laura said 'Watching her being presented with her silver medal was an amazing moment' Credit: Jon Bond Unlock even more award-winning articles as The Sun launches brand new membership programme - Sun Club.
