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Dioma standing in front of St Thomas

Dioma thanks compassionate staff for saving her life

After falling seriously ill at home, Dioma had to have an emergency operation at Guy’s Hospital and ended up spending over 6 weeks in intensive care. It was a frightening time, but the expert team who saved her life were there for her every step of the way.

Dioma remembers not feeling well and going to bed. She woke in a panic, not able to breath, and called for her partner to ring for an ambulance. She doesn’t remember much after that.

She was given adrenaline by the paramedics and rushed to her local hospital. There, she was diagnosed with a large growth (known as a goitre), which was blocking her throat. They were able to remove half of the growth, but removing the other half was extremely complicated. It required specialist expertise, and so Dioma was transferred to Guy’s and St Thomas’. The team there were able to remove the rest of the 15cm growth (the size of an orange). They saved her life.

Dioma in front of the "Welcome to St Thomas

Guy's and St Thomas' staff were compassionate and supportive

Following the emergency operation at Guy’s Hospital, Dioma spent the next 6 weeks in intensive care. She says: “After the operation, my body was under a lot of stress – it went a little haywire. I was on lots of medication, had a feeding tube, and couldn’t really do anything for myself. It was a frightening time.”

But the compassionate staff were supportive and reassuring and helped her get through the worst days.

Dioma’s care didn’t end when she was discharged from intensive care. She continued to receive specialist support to build up her strength.

“When I was discharged, I couldn’t walk far – I could barely make it up and down the stairs at home. The physio of the lungs I received at St Thomas’ Hospital was absolutely brilliant. As I’d been on a ventilator for so long, my lungs had to learn how to work again,” explained Dioma.

“The staff treated me with the utmost dignity, respect and kindness. I can’t thank them enough.”

Dioma

Physiotherapy helped Dioma reach her goals

The physiotherapy Dioma did for 10 weeks made a huge difference to her recovery. It meant she could walk a little further each day and make progress against her goals. Earlier this year, she was able to do a 10-mile walk. And this Christmas, she’s sending a message of thanks to the Guy’s and St Thomas’ teams for the care she received.

We’re proud to support the intensive care team at Guy’s and St Thomas’, including a project which is improving patients’ psychological wellbeing once they leave intensive care. This innovative new approach delivers early support including information sheets, online group education sessions, in-person and online support groups, and one-to one psychological therapy.

Dioma smiling in a purple headscarf and t shirt holding a purple relay baton in her right hand, in front of a river.

100% of your donation will go towards helping patients like Dioma this Christmas.

One-off donation Monthly donation
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Could help provide invaluable mental health and wellbeing support for the committed teams at Guy’s and St Thomas’.
Could contribute towards new projects that help analyse patient data which will prioritise those with high-risk symptoms.
Could help fund additional temporary life support systems (ECMO) and save lives.
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