0:00:02 > 0:00:0570 years ago plans for revolution took place,
0:00:05 > 0:00:07that changed all of our lives in Britain.
0:00:08 > 0:00:13We're out to improve the health of every family and the whole nation.
0:00:13 > 0:00:16Its name? The National Health Service.
0:00:17 > 0:00:21We're taking a look at the NHS, then and now...
0:00:21 > 0:00:25- OK, adrenaline. - He's had 6 adrenaline.
0:00:25 > 0:00:26..to see how much it's changed...
0:00:27 > 0:00:29Is that real?
0:00:29 > 0:00:31..to meet staff and patients...
0:00:31 > 0:00:33Let me help you out.
0:00:33 > 0:00:35Sorry, it's my first day here.
0:00:35 > 0:00:37..with extraordinary medical stories.
0:00:38 > 0:00:40You died, basically.
0:00:40 > 0:00:41For three minutes, yes.
0:00:41 > 0:00:43It's quite emotional seeing you.
0:00:43 > 0:00:44Thank you.
0:00:44 > 0:00:45Surprise!
0:00:45 > 0:00:46- ALL:- Surprise!
0:00:48 > 0:00:49I'm Lucy Alexander.
0:00:49 > 0:00:54Without the NHS I don't think my daughter would be alive today.
0:00:54 > 0:00:55Can you just spin?
0:00:55 > 0:00:57LUCY LAUGHS
0:00:57 > 0:01:01'I want to say thank you to the medical team that saved her life.'
0:01:01 > 0:01:04- Being on a life-support machine... - You're going to make me cry. - I know, I know.
0:01:20 > 0:01:22Mornings start like everyone else's in our house -
0:01:22 > 0:01:26getting the family up, fed, and out to school.
0:01:26 > 0:01:29This is my husband, former premiership footballer, Stewart...
0:01:29 > 0:01:31Oh, looking good, mate. Breakfast is ready, though. Come on.
0:01:31 > 0:01:34..our equally footie-mad son, Leo,
0:01:34 > 0:01:35and the dog, Teddy.
0:01:35 > 0:01:37- Kitty, have you got your blazer? - Yeah.
0:01:37 > 0:01:41'Oh! And running late again is Kitty, our teenage daughter.'
0:01:44 > 0:01:48I always have to take a cup of tea on the school run
0:01:48 > 0:01:50because I get really thirsty.
0:01:52 > 0:01:54He normally, like, runs around,
0:01:54 > 0:01:57acting crazy, normally, when he first goes out.
0:01:57 > 0:02:01He's usually doing laps and just barking his head off.
0:02:01 > 0:02:04- Normally at the cats next door. - Yeah.
0:02:04 > 0:02:06Quickly, quickly, quickly, quickly.
0:02:06 > 0:02:12Quick, quick, quick, quick, quick!
0:02:12 > 0:02:13All right, Kits?
0:02:13 > 0:02:15- Good girl. All sorted?- Yeah.- Yeah?
0:02:17 > 0:02:18See you later, guys.
0:02:18 > 0:02:20Have a good one. See you.
0:02:20 > 0:02:24Ooh, yeah - it's freezing this morning, isn't it?
0:02:24 > 0:02:27'On the way to school, we talk about the normal stuff.'
0:02:27 > 0:02:30Have you done all the homework you were supposed to have done?
0:02:30 > 0:02:32- I think so. - Well, that's not good enough.
0:02:34 > 0:02:37'But after I've dropped them off and I'm on my own...'
0:02:37 > 0:02:38Love you.
0:02:40 > 0:02:44'..the route home always reminds me of an event, seven years ago,
0:02:44 > 0:02:46'that changed our lives.'
0:02:48 > 0:02:51We're coming up, here, to Kitty's little primary school,
0:02:51 > 0:02:52which is just up here.
0:02:52 > 0:02:55And, erm, I'd sent her to school that morning,
0:02:55 > 0:03:00but she was saying to me, "Mum, my legs ache. I feel funny."
0:03:00 > 0:03:04Anyway, so I went off, and halfway through my spinning class,
0:03:04 > 0:03:07a lady from the gym came in and said,
0:03:07 > 0:03:09"Kitty's school is on the phone.
0:03:09 > 0:03:11"You've got to get to school, now.
0:03:11 > 0:03:13"She's screaming. She's really ill."
0:03:14 > 0:03:17And I, I...thought, "What? My God!"
0:03:17 > 0:03:19So I jumped off my bike...
0:03:19 > 0:03:23and, erm...literally ran home,
0:03:23 > 0:03:24grabbed the car,
0:03:24 > 0:03:26got to school...
0:03:26 > 0:03:30..and when I saw her she was laying out on this...sickbed, at school.
0:03:30 > 0:03:33And she looked like something serious had happened.
0:03:35 > 0:03:37You know, it just...it looked like she'd had a stroke.
0:03:37 > 0:03:40She just looked...really not very good.
0:03:42 > 0:03:43SHE SNIFFS
0:03:43 > 0:03:47It's still really hard talking about it.
0:03:47 > 0:03:51In a panic I phoned Stewart, and we brought Kitty to our local A&E
0:03:51 > 0:03:53where she was seen immediately.
0:03:53 > 0:03:56What happened next, I'll remember for the rest of my life.
0:03:56 > 0:03:59It was then they discovered, when they were doing the test,
0:03:59 > 0:04:01where they get the little thing and they bang your knee
0:04:01 > 0:04:04to see what your reactions are,
0:04:04 > 0:04:07and her leg wasn't moving.
0:04:07 > 0:04:08Nothing was moving.
0:04:08 > 0:04:13And I just, instantly, saw the looks on their faces of sheer panic.
0:04:14 > 0:04:18And then we were just blue-lighted to a London hospital, immediately.
0:04:18 > 0:04:20And that's when they said, "This is seriously wrong.
0:04:20 > 0:04:22"We think she's paralysed."
0:04:22 > 0:04:25With those words all our lives changed forever.
0:04:25 > 0:04:27Kitty had transverse myelitis -
0:04:27 > 0:04:31a rare neurological disorder where the body's immune system reacts to
0:04:31 > 0:04:35an infection, causing inflammation and scarring in the spinal cord.
0:04:35 > 0:04:38It's a disease that affects those who have it in different ways,
0:04:38 > 0:04:41and for Kitty it took away her ability to walk.
0:04:41 > 0:04:44But it could have been so much worse.
0:04:44 > 0:04:48As the weeks and the months went by, she didn't make very much recovery.
0:04:50 > 0:04:52And she ended up having to
0:04:52 > 0:04:55go on a life-support machine because she caught pneumonia.
0:04:55 > 0:04:59She had two pneumothoraces which needed to be operated on.
0:04:59 > 0:05:03She had to have chest drains, and she was, you know,
0:05:03 > 0:05:07in the PICU ward, at the Evelina, fighting for her life at one point.
0:05:07 > 0:05:09And we, at that point, really honestly,
0:05:09 > 0:05:11didn't know whether she was going to pull through.
0:05:11 > 0:05:13She was so, so ill.
0:05:16 > 0:05:18Luckily, I had Stewart to support me.
0:05:19 > 0:05:22Back at the house, we're taking the chance to look through
0:05:22 > 0:05:24some old photos of Kitty.
0:05:24 > 0:05:26This first one's a killer. I mean look at her...
0:05:26 > 0:05:30She's winning hands down - winning the sports day.
0:05:30 > 0:05:35She came back with all first, first, first badges, all over her T-shirt.
0:05:35 > 0:05:38See, when I look at that picture of Kitty running,
0:05:38 > 0:05:43I see you and Leo...and the athlete that she was, wasn't she?
0:05:43 > 0:05:44Yeah, she was unbelievable.
0:05:44 > 0:05:48When you go from that, gleaming little seven-year-old...to that...
0:05:48 > 0:05:52So that was the first day. That was, that was hours
0:05:52 > 0:05:53after she was taken into hospital.
0:05:53 > 0:05:57And we still didn't quite understand the enormity of what was happening.
0:05:57 > 0:06:00- Look at her. She's so happy. I mean, you can see her face... - She looks...
0:06:00 > 0:06:02She doesn't know what's about to happen to her.
0:06:02 > 0:06:05We didn't, for a minute, think it was going to be something as...
0:06:05 > 0:06:08as huge and as devastating as what happened.
0:06:08 > 0:06:09God...
0:06:10 > 0:06:13- It's quite...- And talking of devastation, I mean, that's it.
0:06:13 > 0:06:16She went downhill pretty quick afterwards, didn't she?
0:06:16 > 0:06:18She ended up in intensive care.
0:06:18 > 0:06:22That picture is something that...I haven't looked at for...
0:06:22 > 0:06:23- about seven years.- Mmm.
0:06:25 > 0:06:29This is where the inflammation is shown on the spinal cord,
0:06:29 > 0:06:31So, you can see the shaded area -
0:06:31 > 0:06:35that's where the messages aren't getting through from the brain.
0:06:35 > 0:06:37So this is transverse myelitis.
0:06:37 > 0:06:40This is the effect of the attack that she had, yeah.
0:06:40 > 0:06:41- That's an incredible picture. - I know.
0:06:41 > 0:06:43You can see it, in black-and-white.
0:06:43 > 0:06:45- Has Kitty ever seen that?- Yeah.
0:06:45 > 0:06:47- Has she seen that? - Yeah, I've talked her through it.
0:06:47 > 0:06:50That's the same as if she'd been in a car crash
0:06:50 > 0:06:51or fallen off a horse.
0:06:51 > 0:06:54Ultimately...it's a spinal cord injury.
0:06:56 > 0:07:00For a while we just didn't know whether Kitty would survive,
0:07:00 > 0:07:01let alone walk again.
0:07:03 > 0:07:06Fortunately, she was in the right place, under the care of the NHS.
0:07:08 > 0:07:11Coupled with her incredible fighting spirit,
0:07:11 > 0:07:15she started to make a slow but steady recovery.
0:07:24 > 0:07:26It's amazing looking at her doing all that rehab,
0:07:26 > 0:07:29because look how far she came in six months.
0:07:29 > 0:07:33And, look - her school journey she went on with her school.
0:07:33 > 0:07:35This was still less than a year after...
0:07:35 > 0:07:38- I know.- ..her injury. And she's up there, she on a zip wire.
0:07:38 > 0:07:41I mean, she's just such a great kid.
0:07:41 > 0:07:44Of course, Kitty wouldn't have made it if it was not for
0:07:44 > 0:07:45the National Health Service.
0:07:45 > 0:07:49Over the next few days I want to find out how children's health care
0:07:49 > 0:07:53has evolved through the years, from days when having a condition
0:07:53 > 0:07:56like hers probably would have meant a painful death,
0:07:56 > 0:07:59through the major developments made possible by the NHS.
0:08:05 > 0:08:08And my journey begins in the children's hospital
0:08:08 > 0:08:10where Kitty was treated.
0:08:10 > 0:08:13Today, Stewart and I are going back to Evelina, London.
0:08:13 > 0:08:17It shares a site and history with St Thomas' Hospital, next door,
0:08:17 > 0:08:20which was built here way back in 1869.
0:08:20 > 0:08:24And where Florence Nightingale herself was a member of staff.
0:08:24 > 0:08:26She founded a school of nursing and midwifery here,
0:08:26 > 0:08:29which became renowned all over the world.
0:08:29 > 0:08:34In 1948, St Thomas' was one of over 2,000 hospitals
0:08:34 > 0:08:37taken under full control of the brand-new NHS.
0:08:42 > 0:08:45St Thomas' hospital has changed a lot over the last 70 years.
0:08:45 > 0:08:48And, in 2005, Evelina London,
0:08:48 > 0:08:52a dedicated children's hospital, was opened next door.
0:08:52 > 0:08:55They look after 50,000 young patients a year,
0:08:55 > 0:08:57all with families desperate for help and support.
0:08:59 > 0:09:01It was here that Kitty was first treated,
0:09:01 > 0:09:04and where we spent around three months.
0:09:04 > 0:09:08It all started in the PICU Ward - paediatric intensive care.
0:09:08 > 0:09:10Today we've been invited back,
0:09:10 > 0:09:13and it's the first time we've been in the ward since Kitty was admitted
0:09:13 > 0:09:15seven years ago.
0:09:17 > 0:09:19Oh, God.
0:09:19 > 0:09:20I don't actually like...
0:09:22 > 0:09:24Don't actually like this.
0:09:24 > 0:09:27- No.- It's quite emotional, actually. I feel...I do feel...
0:09:29 > 0:09:30..funny.
0:09:33 > 0:09:35I'm actually shaking.
0:09:36 > 0:09:37Come on.
0:09:42 > 0:09:43MACHINES BEEPING
0:09:43 > 0:09:46You just hear the "beep, beep, beep."
0:09:46 > 0:09:49It's just all the "beep, beep" - all the machines. You could...
0:09:49 > 0:09:50- It's bringing it all back.- Yeah.
0:09:51 > 0:09:54- It was always really quiet.- Mmm.
0:09:54 > 0:09:59It was over there, wasn't it? In the far corner.
0:09:59 > 0:10:01- God.- Are you OK? - Yeah, I'm all right.
0:10:01 > 0:10:05And I remember I was all right, after we got over the initial shock.
0:10:05 > 0:10:09- Yeah.- And we ended up...quite liking it here.- I was going to say,
0:10:09 > 0:10:12I think, weirdly, it gave us comfort -
0:10:12 > 0:10:14being surrounded by all of these people,
0:10:14 > 0:10:16and everybody's in the same boat.
0:10:20 > 0:10:23It's strange being back, but we're not here long before we have
0:10:23 > 0:10:25the comfort of a familiar face -
0:10:25 > 0:10:26Kitty's nurse, Suze Andrews.
0:10:26 > 0:10:29- It's good to see you. - Nice to see you!
0:10:29 > 0:10:30- Hello.- I can't believe it -
0:10:30 > 0:10:33I didn't expect any of the same nurses to be here at all.
0:10:33 > 0:10:35How are you? It's so nice to see you.
0:10:35 > 0:10:37I know, it's good to see you. Is the rest of the gang here?
0:10:37 > 0:10:40There's quite a few people here, yeah. There's a few of us around.
0:10:40 > 0:10:42Seeing your face is just, like,
0:10:42 > 0:10:44taking me back there a bit, in a lovely way,
0:10:44 > 0:10:48because I know you had such a huge input into her recovery.
0:10:48 > 0:10:51- How's Kitty doing?- She is doing really well.- She's doing amazing.
0:10:51 > 0:10:52Shall I show you some pictures?
0:10:52 > 0:10:55Some updated pictures? There you go. This was her...
0:10:55 > 0:10:56- not long ago.- Oh, great!
0:10:56 > 0:10:59- She's thriving.- I know. Can you believe she's just, like,
0:10:59 > 0:11:01- a teenager?- Amazing.
0:11:05 > 0:11:08It's moving, being back in the place where Kitty was at her most ill.
0:11:10 > 0:11:12Here, in the intensive care unit,
0:11:12 > 0:11:15we really didn't know if our little girl would live or die.
0:11:15 > 0:11:18Ah, hello! How are you?
0:11:18 > 0:11:21Lead consultant for all of Kitty's care at Evelina London
0:11:21 > 0:11:22was Doctor Ming Lim.
0:11:22 > 0:11:25He still keeps track of all her progress,
0:11:25 > 0:11:27and it's great to bump into him again.
0:11:27 > 0:11:29I can remember when Kitty was first diagnosed,
0:11:29 > 0:11:31and getting the laptop out, and I was reading every...
0:11:31 > 0:11:35every paper, all the documentation, and you were great...
0:11:35 > 0:11:38You know, these conditions are very rare. In a year,
0:11:38 > 0:11:42in the whole of the UK, we would probably see 20 or 30 patients
0:11:42 > 0:11:43with this condition.
0:11:43 > 0:11:45So, Ming - come on, be honest, in all honesty,
0:11:45 > 0:11:48have you ever met another dad like Stu, because we can tell him now,
0:11:48 > 0:11:50he was actually doorstepping you, at one point.
0:11:50 > 0:11:54I have to admit I actually thought it was by chance rather than him
0:11:54 > 0:11:55stalking me!
0:11:55 > 0:11:57Oh, no - sorry about that.
0:11:57 > 0:11:59- But it was all for the greater good, you know that.- Yes.
0:11:59 > 0:12:01No, that was well appreciated.
0:12:01 > 0:12:04Only because, as you said, it's a rare condition
0:12:04 > 0:12:06and he's actually doing all the hard work for me.
0:12:06 > 0:12:09It's like having a research assistant, so it's very...
0:12:09 > 0:12:10- Professional.- Yeah.
0:12:14 > 0:12:15It was another paediatrician,
0:12:15 > 0:12:18the quietly spoken Doctor Andrew Durward, who was with us
0:12:18 > 0:12:22when we faced the ultimate decision about Kitty's health.
0:12:22 > 0:12:26I think the moment that I really remember the most,
0:12:26 > 0:12:30out of the whole of this journey, was you coming up to Stewart and I
0:12:30 > 0:12:34and saying, "Listen, guys, this is really important,
0:12:34 > 0:12:37"the day we take her off the ventilator -
0:12:37 > 0:12:39"and today is that day."
0:12:39 > 0:12:41Kitty's life was in your hands.
0:12:41 > 0:12:44I mean, she was artificially breathing from a machine, here.
0:12:44 > 0:12:48- She was on a ventilator, wasn't she? - And, you know, at any point, I mean,
0:12:48 > 0:12:51it's the last place you are before you end your life.
0:12:51 > 0:12:54And...God, we were scared.
0:12:56 > 0:12:59Did you ever have a flicker of worry that this wasn't going to work out?
0:12:59 > 0:13:01Always.
0:13:01 > 0:13:05We don't have the tools in medicine to predict 100% whether you
0:13:05 > 0:13:07succeed or fail on a ventilator.
0:13:07 > 0:13:11The difference is being prepared for all the different options,
0:13:11 > 0:13:15and to pick the best moment so that we're maximising the chance.
0:13:15 > 0:13:19Andrew, I need to know - what was it about the actual day, the time?
0:13:19 > 0:13:22Why did you say, on that day, at that time,
0:13:22 > 0:13:26"this is what we're going to do - Kitty is coming off that today"?
0:13:26 > 0:13:29I think everything here is teamwork.
0:13:29 > 0:13:31And we all, as a team, sat there and said,
0:13:31 > 0:13:35"Right, she's showing enough strength to try and get her off."
0:13:35 > 0:13:36Her life was in the balance,
0:13:36 > 0:13:40and I think it's moments like that that makes us appreciate that,
0:13:40 > 0:13:42even though she's in a wheelchair now,
0:13:42 > 0:13:43we could have lost her.
0:13:43 > 0:13:45She could have gone, and we've still got her.
0:13:45 > 0:13:48And that helps us get through day-to-day life as it is now,
0:13:48 > 0:13:51that she's leading a happy, healthy life.
0:13:51 > 0:13:54I think a lot comes down to character.
0:13:54 > 0:13:56Going through the hurdles, the physiotherapy,
0:13:56 > 0:14:00all the hard work to rehabilitate, to actually get out of here,
0:14:00 > 0:14:04and we've seen that in patients who end up, like her, doing so well,
0:14:04 > 0:14:06even knowing what they've been through.
0:14:06 > 0:14:08They have that resolve, from the word go.
0:14:08 > 0:14:10You did an outstanding job.
0:14:10 > 0:14:12Honestly, it's quite emotional seeing you.
0:14:12 > 0:14:16- Thank you.- Thank you so much. - You are a man we talk about often,
0:14:16 > 0:14:19at the breakfast table, when we're all talking about it.
0:14:19 > 0:14:21You do such good work here.
0:14:21 > 0:14:23- Thank you.- And if I could jump over and hug you now, I would.
0:14:23 > 0:14:25Come on - do it anyway. He's a top man.
0:14:25 > 0:14:29- Thank you so much. - Thank you, Andrew.
0:14:29 > 0:14:32- Thank you.- Seriously, from the bottom of our hearts, honestly,
0:14:32 > 0:14:34you are very special to us.
0:14:34 > 0:14:37- It's a pleasure.- I'm glad we've had this chance to see you again.
0:14:37 > 0:14:39Thank you.
0:14:39 > 0:14:42It would be impossible to say thank you to all the people who helped us
0:14:42 > 0:14:47at Evelina London, but this morning has given us some sense of closure.
0:14:47 > 0:14:49While Stewart heads off to pick up the kids from school,
0:14:49 > 0:14:53I've headed across to Evelina's next-door neighbour, Saint Thomas'.
0:14:53 > 0:14:56The Royal Dalton tiles that lined the original children's wards
0:14:56 > 0:14:58are still displayed proudly on the walls,
0:14:58 > 0:15:02and it makes me wonder what Kitty's experience might have been like
0:15:02 > 0:15:04before the NHS.
0:15:04 > 0:15:07Children's health care back then was a bit of a lottery.
0:15:07 > 0:15:11No-one would deny that bad housing, poverty and overcrowding
0:15:11 > 0:15:14are evils that contribute to ill health.
0:15:14 > 0:15:17Before the Second World War, poor living conditions and nutrition
0:15:17 > 0:15:20meant childhood epidemics like polio and diphtheria thrived.
0:15:20 > 0:15:24This boy is not expected to live.
0:15:24 > 0:15:26He was not immunised.
0:15:30 > 0:15:34And while there were famous hospitals like Great Ormond Street and Evelina,
0:15:34 > 0:15:35these were for the lucky few.
0:15:36 > 0:15:40I'm meeting up with historian Dr Tanya McIntosh to find out
0:15:40 > 0:15:43how things would have been for children and parents back then,
0:15:43 > 0:15:45before the NHS ever existed.
0:15:45 > 0:15:49There wasn't this idea that if you were sick you went into hospital.
0:15:49 > 0:15:53The hospitals that there were for children tended to deal with
0:15:53 > 0:15:56slightly older children, so if you were, sort of, under five,
0:15:56 > 0:15:59they wouldn't have wanted to know about you. They thought they were
0:15:59 > 0:16:02babies and they were better off at home with their mothers.
0:16:02 > 0:16:06They also only really looked after children with short-term conditions,
0:16:06 > 0:16:08so, perhaps, if you broke your leg
0:16:08 > 0:16:10you might be taken into a children's hospital,
0:16:10 > 0:16:15but if you had a chronic condition or a long-term condition,
0:16:15 > 0:16:18you would be looked after very much at home.
0:16:18 > 0:16:20This is a world away from what happens at the likes of
0:16:20 > 0:16:23Evelina London, where children of all ages,
0:16:23 > 0:16:25including babies and infants, are treated.
0:16:25 > 0:16:27But it's not just the little ones
0:16:27 > 0:16:31for whom the hospital experience has been revolutionised.
0:16:31 > 0:16:34Before the NHS, if a child was in hospital,
0:16:34 > 0:16:37they might be visited once a week by their parents,
0:16:37 > 0:16:39if the hospital was really, really generous.
0:16:39 > 0:16:42It could be once a month if they were in for a long time,
0:16:42 > 0:16:45or quite a few hospitals had a policy of
0:16:45 > 0:16:50absolutely no visiting at all by anybody to the children who were in.
0:16:50 > 0:16:53- Oh, I mean, that's just heartbreaking to think.- Yeah.
0:16:53 > 0:16:56I spent so much time here with my daughter,
0:16:56 > 0:16:59laying next to her on a pull-out bed, I can't bear to think that,
0:16:59 > 0:17:01you know, Mummy wouldn't have been around.
0:17:01 > 0:17:04So how did it affect those poor kids? I mean, how did they cope?
0:17:04 > 0:17:06Well, really interestingly,
0:17:06 > 0:17:08the hospitals thought they coped really well,
0:17:08 > 0:17:12cos what they saw was young children coming into hospital,
0:17:12 > 0:17:17being really upset, crying, being sad, looking for their parents.
0:17:17 > 0:17:21And then after a while, when the parents didn't turn up,
0:17:21 > 0:17:22they'd go quiet.
0:17:22 > 0:17:26And the hospitals would think, "OK, they're all right now.
0:17:26 > 0:17:29"They're quiet. They're settled. They're fine. It'll be OK."
0:17:29 > 0:17:32What they didn't really seem to see was that, actually,
0:17:32 > 0:17:35what you had was children feeling despair.
0:17:35 > 0:17:38They, kind of, put all of those feelings in themselves,
0:17:38 > 0:17:41and lost hope that somebody would come back for them.
0:17:41 > 0:17:45So there was no sense that they were doing something that was wrong.
0:17:45 > 0:17:48I can remember Kitty being on a life-support machine,
0:17:48 > 0:17:49at the Evelina hospital,
0:17:49 > 0:17:53and they told me to get in bed with her, lay next to her, cuddle her.
0:17:53 > 0:17:56She can still hear you, even though she looked out of it.
0:17:56 > 0:17:58And it did. Her sats went up,
0:17:58 > 0:18:01and we were all so surprised and I kept cuddling her.
0:18:01 > 0:18:02And she could hear me.
0:18:02 > 0:18:04She needed the Mummy touch, and she needed to hear my voice.
0:18:04 > 0:18:08They were always very worried about infection so they thought
0:18:08 > 0:18:11if we keep people away we'll have less infection.
0:18:11 > 0:18:13But one of the other things that they were concerned about
0:18:13 > 0:18:19was anxious mothers disrupting the routine, making nursing difficult,
0:18:19 > 0:18:21making children sad and emotional.
0:18:21 > 0:18:23So they decided, actually, the easiest way to deal with it
0:18:23 > 0:18:26was to just keep parents well away.
0:18:26 > 0:18:30And it took a long, long time to change that.
0:18:30 > 0:18:34It took some real campaigning, by women's groups as well as
0:18:34 > 0:18:36psychologists, to say that,
0:18:36 > 0:18:40actually, we're causing children some real harm, here,
0:18:40 > 0:18:42by not letting their parents be with them
0:18:42 > 0:18:46when they're at their most vulnerable and really need somebody.
0:18:46 > 0:18:50And it was the NHS that started the revolution.
0:18:50 > 0:18:54- ANNOUNCER:- On July fifth, the new National Health Service starts.
0:18:54 > 0:18:57The new service promised a fresh start for children's health
0:18:57 > 0:18:58in the UK.
0:18:58 > 0:19:00'Have you chosen your family doctor?
0:19:00 > 0:19:02'If not, ask your doctor now
0:19:02 > 0:19:05'if he'll you look after you under the new scheme.'
0:19:05 > 0:19:08In the wake of World War II, Britain desperately needed to rebuild.
0:19:08 > 0:19:12Over 450,000 people had been killed in the war,
0:19:12 > 0:19:14and hundreds of thousands more were injured.
0:19:14 > 0:19:17The country needed healthy boys and girls
0:19:17 > 0:19:19who could go up to become productive adults.
0:19:19 > 0:19:24Our plan is a service which will provide the best medical advice and
0:19:24 > 0:19:28treatment for everyone - every man, woman and child in this country.
0:19:28 > 0:19:31And it worked. Over the last 70 years,
0:19:31 > 0:19:34thanks to advances in maternity and antenatal care,
0:19:34 > 0:19:37infant mortality rates have been slashed by over 90%.
0:19:37 > 0:19:41And many childhood diseases, once so prevalent in the UK,
0:19:41 > 0:19:42have been eradicated.
0:19:45 > 0:19:49Back in the present, it's like the bad old days never existed at all.
0:19:54 > 0:19:58Four-and-a-half-month-old Ruby is recovering from life-saving surgery.
0:19:58 > 0:20:01She's been intubated for six days, and her mum, Amelia,
0:20:01 > 0:20:03hasn't left her side.
0:20:03 > 0:20:06Amelia, it's so lovely to meet Ruby.
0:20:06 > 0:20:08She's absolutely gorgeous.
0:20:08 > 0:20:11- So, she's intubated.- Yeah.
0:20:11 > 0:20:13What happened? What's the story?
0:20:13 > 0:20:16At my 20-week scan they found out that she had a hole in her heart.
0:20:16 > 0:20:18They've managed to close the hole,
0:20:18 > 0:20:21but there is just a tiny bit of it still.
0:20:21 > 0:20:25So before she was even born, you knew this was going to happen?
0:20:25 > 0:20:27Yeah. We've known for a very long while.
0:20:27 > 0:20:29I know you've got a book down there,
0:20:29 > 0:20:33and I have got one almost identical for my daughter, Kitty.
0:20:33 > 0:20:35Show me what you've done so far.
0:20:35 > 0:20:37So I put some little bits on the front to make it pretty,
0:20:37 > 0:20:39and some animals.
0:20:39 > 0:20:41And then I've left spaces in here for photos,
0:20:41 > 0:20:46but I've just been writing each day what's gone on, from start to end.
0:20:46 > 0:20:48And I've had some of the nurses write in.
0:20:48 > 0:20:51I know from experience that keeping a patient diary
0:20:51 > 0:20:53provides a lot of comfort.
0:20:53 > 0:20:55It's an idea that was originated here,
0:20:55 > 0:20:57and has now been adopted nationally.
0:20:57 > 0:20:59Hopefully today will provide lots of material,
0:20:59 > 0:21:03because in a few hours Ruby may be breathing for herself.
0:21:03 > 0:21:05Are you nervous? Are you excited?
0:21:05 > 0:21:08It's quite a big day, isn't it, when they take the tube out?
0:21:08 > 0:21:10I've been through the same thing with my daughter.
0:21:10 > 0:21:12I don't know, they've kept me so calm and...
0:21:12 > 0:21:15- It's just lovely. - You seem really calm.
0:21:15 > 0:21:17I think you have to be.
0:21:17 > 0:21:21I think if I keep calm...it just makes things seem like they're getting better.
0:21:21 > 0:21:24And what's the one thing you're most looking forward to?
0:21:24 > 0:21:25Having a cuddle!
0:21:25 > 0:21:28Aw... She's so lovely.
0:21:28 > 0:21:31I might have to have a cuddle before I go - I'm sorry.
0:21:31 > 0:21:34If she's off, I'd be more than happy.
0:21:34 > 0:21:37- Good luck. Good luck.- Thank you.
0:21:37 > 0:21:41It wasn't just newborns the NHS was committed to taking care of,
0:21:41 > 0:21:43from the off, and through its long history,
0:21:43 > 0:21:46the relatively recent medical field of paediatrics have been
0:21:46 > 0:21:48at the heart of the service -
0:21:48 > 0:21:51everything from research into childhood illnesses
0:21:51 > 0:21:55to mass inoculation programmes and free fillings.
0:21:55 > 0:21:57The health of the next generation, under the NHS,
0:21:57 > 0:21:59has improved dramatically.
0:21:59 > 0:22:02Millions of you have got the spectacles you needed.
0:22:02 > 0:22:05And tens of millions of you have visited the doctor under the scheme,
0:22:05 > 0:22:08and got your medicine.
0:22:08 > 0:22:10Wahey!
0:22:10 > 0:22:14Today, paediatrics has grown to be one of the NHS's biggest and
0:22:14 > 0:22:15progressive departments,
0:22:15 > 0:22:18with children at the centre of everything.
0:22:18 > 0:22:19The wards at Evelina London
0:22:19 > 0:22:22were even designed with the help of children,
0:22:22 > 0:22:26who advised against long straight corridors which were seen as scary.
0:22:26 > 0:22:30There's a cinema, a school and, in wards like Savannah,
0:22:30 > 0:22:32where Kitty spent three months recovering,
0:22:32 > 0:22:34plenty of toys and games.
0:22:34 > 0:22:37Underneath the fun, though, is serious health care,
0:22:37 > 0:22:40as play specialist Julie Ainsworth explains,
0:22:40 > 0:22:42while Cameron thrashes me at Connect Four.
0:22:42 > 0:22:45What do you think the importance of play therapy is?
0:22:45 > 0:22:47I know you've been doing it for many years. How many years?
0:22:47 > 0:22:49- 34.- Oh! 34 years.
0:22:49 > 0:22:50I've stopped you from making a line.
0:22:50 > 0:22:53Oh! You're concentrating.
0:22:53 > 0:22:56Obviously, this is an alien environment,
0:22:56 > 0:23:00so the things that actually are very normal are
0:23:00 > 0:23:03games and television and DVDs.
0:23:03 > 0:23:06It actually gives the children security to know that, actually,
0:23:06 > 0:23:07they're getting better.
0:23:07 > 0:23:09Certainly, in some children's cases,
0:23:09 > 0:23:12where they're not being able to speak to us, or let us know,
0:23:12 > 0:23:15if they're doing something that makes them smile,
0:23:15 > 0:23:19or brings some kind of joy into their life, it's obviously all worthwhile.
0:23:19 > 0:23:21And have you had a good time playing lots of games
0:23:21 > 0:23:23- since you've been in here? - I've won.- What?
0:23:23 > 0:23:26You're too good at this! I'm not concentrating.
0:23:26 > 0:23:28Up until yesterday you were in PICU, weren't you?
0:23:28 > 0:23:31- Yeah.- Yeah.- Were you in PICU? - Yeah, he was in PICU.
0:23:31 > 0:23:33Is it good being back up here, now, though?
0:23:33 > 0:23:36- Are you having a nicer time, playing with all the games?- Yeah.
0:23:36 > 0:23:38As well as advances in paediatric care,
0:23:38 > 0:23:41by the '60s, the NHS had developed a new attitude
0:23:41 > 0:23:44towards parents visiting their children while in hospital.
0:23:44 > 0:23:47- ANNOUNCER:- If you've ever been in hospital you'll
0:23:47 > 0:23:48recognise the symptoms - yes,
0:23:48 > 0:23:49Jane's been got ready for visitors.
0:23:49 > 0:23:52Even Sister's helping with seven-year-old Marlin's pretty hair.
0:23:52 > 0:23:55Suzanne's a lucky one, and so is ten-year-old Graham -
0:23:55 > 0:23:57he's glad he made such a thorough job of cleaning his teeth.
0:23:57 > 0:24:00Marlin's not forgotten - though Mummy and Daddy are too far away
0:24:00 > 0:24:02to see her, she's not allowed to feel neglected.
0:24:02 > 0:24:05That's where the art of nursing comes in.
0:24:05 > 0:24:08Today, recovery rates for kids like Lauren are helped by having
0:24:08 > 0:24:12Mum constantly around, although I know only too well
0:24:12 > 0:24:13it's a tiring business.
0:24:13 > 0:24:16She's starting to enjoy herself because she's on her feet now.
0:24:16 > 0:24:18She's giggling. Look at you laughing!
0:24:19 > 0:24:22It's quite funny, cos I did pass Lauren in the corridor earlier -
0:24:22 > 0:24:25you could not have crammed any more pens into her arms!
0:24:25 > 0:24:28MUM LAUGHS She was literally running up the corridor.
0:24:28 > 0:24:30So how are you feeling?
0:24:30 > 0:24:31I'm really tired.
0:24:31 > 0:24:34Tell me, are you sleeping on that bed that's in the cupboard?
0:24:34 > 0:24:36- It's not bad.- What?!
0:24:36 > 0:24:39- It does the job.- I slept in that and it killed my back!
0:24:39 > 0:24:41But it does the job,
0:24:41 > 0:24:44and it's something that a lot of hospitals don't have.
0:24:44 > 0:24:47There's not much you can do about sleep when your child is ill.
0:24:47 > 0:24:49It does take its toll on you.
0:24:49 > 0:24:51And you are feeling supported?
0:24:51 > 0:24:52Yes, I am. 100%.
0:24:52 > 0:24:56Because I want to go home today, and they said no. They're not finished.
0:24:56 > 0:24:58You're so tired, you want to go home to have a sleep!
0:24:58 > 0:25:01I want to go to bed! My own bed!
0:25:01 > 0:25:03I get that. I can remember.
0:25:03 > 0:25:04- Oh, dear...- I understand.
0:25:10 > 0:25:14I remember so well that feeling of stress and exhaustion,
0:25:14 > 0:25:17and the parents' kitchen was a place I would often come and escape.
0:25:17 > 0:25:20But watching the rest of London get on with their lives
0:25:20 > 0:25:23made me long for normality.
0:25:23 > 0:25:26I also contemplated the consequences of what happened to Kitty,
0:25:26 > 0:25:30and how we would cope, as a family, with her new disability.
0:25:30 > 0:25:34Our experiences with the NHS have been overwhelmingly positive,
0:25:34 > 0:25:37but I want to know if that's always been the case.
0:25:40 > 0:25:45Over the years, how disabled adults and children have been treated has,
0:25:45 > 0:25:48like other areas of health care, changed and developed.
0:25:48 > 0:25:52This is Noel swimming, there - he's paralysed from the waist down.
0:25:52 > 0:25:55It's pretty difficult to think of any greater disaster than this,
0:25:55 > 0:25:56which we call paraplegia.
0:25:57 > 0:25:59But to know the real story,
0:25:59 > 0:26:02you have to hear from those who have lived through it.
0:26:02 > 0:26:05I've arranged to meet some people who have grown up throughout
0:26:05 > 0:26:07the NHS's history,
0:26:07 > 0:26:11and whose conditions have given them a lot of experience of its care.
0:26:11 > 0:26:16Hugh and Margie were diagnosed with cerebral palsy during the '50s.
0:26:16 > 0:26:20Mansur was diagnosed with muscular dystrophy in the late '80s.
0:26:20 > 0:26:21They weren't treated here,
0:26:21 > 0:26:25but they've kindly agreed to meet me in a cafe at St Thomas'.
0:26:25 > 0:26:28While Molly, Margie's canine partner, settles down for a lazy
0:26:28 > 0:26:32afternoon, I'm interested to find out their experiences.
0:26:32 > 0:26:37I was at the beginning of the NHS, so it was all new ground.
0:26:40 > 0:26:46There was only one unit in the whole of the country that specialised in
0:26:46 > 0:26:48cerebral palsy. I'll tell you something -
0:26:48 > 0:26:54when I was diagnosed with cerebral palsy, around two and a half,
0:26:54 > 0:26:59I was told that I would never be able to hold a conversation,
0:26:59 > 0:27:02never be able to read, write or anything.
0:27:02 > 0:27:06They told my parents to go away, leave me there
0:27:06 > 0:27:08and go and have another child.
0:27:08 > 0:27:10That's what they were told.
0:27:10 > 0:27:13So, Hugh, were your parents away from you?
0:27:13 > 0:27:17Could your parents come and visit you? Did you see much of them?
0:27:17 > 0:27:22You're talking mid-'50s and transportation was very limited.
0:27:22 > 0:27:29So, I got to see my parents about once every 6 to 12 weeks.
0:27:29 > 0:27:32And can you remember being removed from your mum and dad
0:27:32 > 0:27:35and, all of the sudden, not seeing them so much?
0:27:35 > 0:27:36It broke my heart, basically.
0:27:38 > 0:27:41We weren't even allowed to talk to our parents.
0:27:41 > 0:27:42They said it was bad for us.
0:27:44 > 0:27:48The plus side is it made us very strong.
0:27:48 > 0:27:52It made us... But it pulled us away from our families.
0:27:52 > 0:27:55I lost nearly 90% of my family life,
0:27:55 > 0:28:00because of my education, basically.
0:28:00 > 0:28:03But it made me a very strong person.
0:28:03 > 0:28:08That makes me feel so sad, to hear that from you.
0:28:08 > 0:28:13And, you know, I've been through a terrible trauma with my own child
0:28:13 > 0:28:15and I cannot imagine...
0:28:16 > 0:28:18..leaving her and going away somewhere.
0:28:18 > 0:28:22And I'm so sorry that you had that experience.
0:28:22 > 0:28:25Well, I grew up with it,
0:28:25 > 0:28:27so I learned to adapt.
0:28:27 > 0:28:29I learned to become independent,
0:28:29 > 0:28:31and I learned to live on my own
0:28:31 > 0:28:33and...get on with life.
0:28:33 > 0:28:35You know, I've...
0:28:35 > 0:28:37I've got two degrees,
0:28:37 > 0:28:39I did it off my own back.
0:28:39 > 0:28:42I've flown around the world on my own.
0:28:42 > 0:28:45I've done far more than my brother and sister have ever done
0:28:45 > 0:28:46in their lifetime.
0:28:46 > 0:28:49I've been married for 23 years.
0:28:49 > 0:28:52So...no, I don't regret it.
0:28:52 > 0:28:55So, it's hard to think way back,
0:28:55 > 0:28:58but do you think the attitudes have changed today, you know,
0:28:58 > 0:29:03the NHS and how people now think or deal with disability?
0:29:03 > 0:29:05I mean...how do you feel, Margie?
0:29:05 > 0:29:09Well, part of me, I mean, when I first, kind of...
0:29:10 > 0:29:15..looked into the NHS was when I was about 16.
0:29:15 > 0:29:22My mother had conned me into going to see this consultant.
0:29:22 > 0:29:24She said, "Now, Margie, don't be difficult.
0:29:24 > 0:29:26"I want you to come and see this doctor.
0:29:26 > 0:29:30"There's a new treatment for cerebral palsy".
0:29:30 > 0:29:33By which time, I was quite happy being me with CP.
0:29:33 > 0:29:36I was getting on. I was OK.
0:29:36 > 0:29:37So I thought, "Oh, all right."
0:29:37 > 0:29:41And, basically, he was going to take the top of my head off,
0:29:41 > 0:29:44shove a few electrodes in,
0:29:44 > 0:29:46give it 240 volts,
0:29:46 > 0:29:51put it all back together and say, "Right, there you are".
0:29:51 > 0:29:54So I said, "Hang on a minute. Hang on.
0:29:54 > 0:29:58"This is MY head - can I ask a few questions?"
0:29:58 > 0:30:00I said, "What are the odds?"
0:30:00 > 0:30:03- And, eventually, he said, "50/50". - LUCY GASPS
0:30:03 > 0:30:08So I said, "Right. Come on, Mum - let's go. I'm off".
0:30:09 > 0:30:11You were out that door.
0:30:12 > 0:30:15But, yes, things have improved.
0:30:15 > 0:30:17They have, to a certain extent.
0:30:18 > 0:30:20There's always room for improvement, Margie,
0:30:20 > 0:30:23but you've always got Molly to come home to -
0:30:23 > 0:30:26your beautiful little dog that's so good, that's down there.
0:30:26 > 0:30:27She comes with me.
0:30:27 > 0:30:30She comes with me into the hospitals,
0:30:30 > 0:30:32so I get preferential treatment
0:30:32 > 0:30:35cos all the nurses like to say hello to Molly.
0:30:35 > 0:30:39Without Molly, I'd have to have a human being round all the time,
0:30:39 > 0:30:42- which would be awfully boring. - SHE LAUGHS
0:30:42 > 0:30:44Unfortunately, the rights for
0:30:44 > 0:30:47people with disability have often had to be fought for.
0:30:47 > 0:30:51- What do we want?- We want our rights! - When do we want them?- Now!
0:30:51 > 0:30:53In the 1960s and '70s,
0:30:53 > 0:30:57the civil rights movement in America inspired disabled groups to take
0:30:57 > 0:31:00direct action against discrimination.
0:31:00 > 0:31:03This encouraged a change of attitude to disability here,
0:31:03 > 0:31:06and, eventually, a new Disability Discrimination Act
0:31:06 > 0:31:10was passed in 1995, when Mansur was ten.
0:31:10 > 0:31:13So, what about your experiences, Mansur?
0:31:13 > 0:31:16I've had a, kind of, a long journey with the NHS
0:31:16 > 0:31:19and had some positive experiences as well.
0:31:19 > 0:31:22I used to get chest infections quite often,
0:31:22 > 0:31:25so, you know, you'd have to go to your GP or the A&E
0:31:25 > 0:31:29and so it, kind of, used to be quite late into the onset
0:31:29 > 0:31:33of my chest infection to actually get into hospital.
0:31:33 > 0:31:38And then one year they recommended this red card system,
0:31:38 > 0:31:42where the GP would be allowed to issue, kind of, an emergency card
0:31:42 > 0:31:46that would fast-track me into the relevant ward.
0:31:46 > 0:31:50So that red card definitely helped to bridge that gap.
0:31:50 > 0:31:53It literally depends on
0:31:53 > 0:31:58which hospital you go to...how you get treated, basically.
0:31:58 > 0:32:02And I went to one hospital and they...
0:32:02 > 0:32:04they were scared of me.
0:32:04 > 0:32:05Really?
0:32:05 > 0:32:08Absolutely petrified of me.
0:32:08 > 0:32:12I was in a lot of pain and they didn't know what to do.
0:32:13 > 0:32:15And yet, I went to another hospital
0:32:15 > 0:32:17and it was the completely opposite effect.
0:32:17 > 0:32:21They were asking me what I wanted,
0:32:21 > 0:32:25how I needed it and what I wanted to do about it.
0:32:25 > 0:32:30So that's the difference between two hospitals in the same area.
0:32:31 > 0:32:34Just two different hospitals.
0:32:34 > 0:32:38The medical profession is trying to improve its image.
0:32:39 > 0:32:41It's always been difficult for them.
0:32:41 > 0:32:46If they can't cure you, which, in our cases, you can't...
0:32:47 > 0:32:50..then you have to work WITH us.
0:32:51 > 0:32:54And that, surely, is their ethos.
0:32:54 > 0:33:00They can't cure you, but they can support you through life's changes.
0:33:00 > 0:33:06And, if anything comes of learning through history,
0:33:06 > 0:33:10I'm sure that's the lesson that they ought to come home with.
0:33:10 > 0:33:15I don't think I've ever met three more interesting people, characters.
0:33:15 > 0:33:17They've all got their own individual character.
0:33:18 > 0:33:21It was heartbreaking talking to Hugh, though.
0:33:21 > 0:33:24That really, actually, did make me want to cry
0:33:24 > 0:33:26and just...leap out my seat and hug him.
0:33:26 > 0:33:29To think of what he went through.
0:33:31 > 0:33:32To be that institutionalised.
0:33:34 > 0:33:38But how they're all living such full lives, now, is amazing.
0:33:39 > 0:33:41And I just loved having that chat.
0:33:43 > 0:33:45It's been an emotional and fascinating look back
0:33:45 > 0:33:47on the NHS's past,
0:33:47 > 0:33:50but before I leave St Thomas' and Evelina London,
0:33:50 > 0:33:53there's someone I must check up on -
0:33:53 > 0:33:54brave little Ruby.
0:33:59 > 0:34:01She's just come off the ventilator.
0:34:01 > 0:34:05Mum's about to get her first cuddle in a long time.
0:34:05 > 0:34:07RUBY COUGHING
0:34:07 > 0:34:10Oh, good coughing. Good girl.
0:34:12 > 0:34:14- Hey...- Good coughing.
0:34:14 > 0:34:16Good girl.
0:34:20 > 0:34:22Hello.
0:34:25 > 0:34:27Say hello.
0:34:27 > 0:34:29Yeah.
0:34:29 > 0:34:30You got my finger?
0:34:32 > 0:34:34Can I just have a little hello?
0:34:34 > 0:34:36And...congratulations.
0:34:36 > 0:34:38Hello, beautiful girl.
0:34:38 > 0:34:40How does it feel?
0:34:40 > 0:34:42- Great.- To hug her. How long's it been?
0:34:42 > 0:34:45- Erm, nearly a week.- Oh...
0:34:45 > 0:34:46Hello.
0:34:47 > 0:34:49- Well done.- Good girl.
0:34:49 > 0:34:51Yeah...
0:34:51 > 0:34:54- Look at all these people.- I'm really glad I've been around to see that,
0:34:54 > 0:34:56- because it's been quite special. - Yeah.
0:34:57 > 0:35:01To think, six days ago she was having heart surgery,
0:35:01 > 0:35:03then she was on a ventilator.
0:35:03 > 0:35:07I feel so honoured to have been here whilst having the tube taken out
0:35:07 > 0:35:10and see Mum kiss her for the first time in ages.
0:35:11 > 0:35:13Oh...happy person.
0:35:18 > 0:35:20Well, it's time to get back to my own little girl.
0:35:20 > 0:35:22Not that Kitty's little any more.
0:35:22 > 0:35:25Since leaving hospital seven years ago,
0:35:25 > 0:35:27she's grown up to be a little lady,
0:35:27 > 0:35:29played sports and become a teenager.
0:35:29 > 0:35:33She leads as active life as anyone her age.
0:35:33 > 0:35:37And a lot of that is thanks to one other part of the NHS,
0:35:37 > 0:35:40the National Spinal Injury Centre at Stoke Mandeville.
0:35:40 > 0:35:44It's been a while, but I'm on my way back and this time I'm taking Kitty.
0:35:44 > 0:35:48- Do you always get the same feeling in your tummy when you're about to arrive?- Yeah, I'm quite nervous.
0:35:48 > 0:35:50- Are you?- Yeah.
0:35:50 > 0:35:53You see, I get that lovely, warm feeling that...
0:35:53 > 0:35:56- I don't know, it's home from home, isn't it?- Yeah, it is home,
0:35:56 > 0:35:59but it's still hospital and they're still going to ask you questions.
0:35:59 > 0:36:01"Have you stood? Have you stretched?"
0:36:02 > 0:36:05It kind of feels like going back to school.
0:36:05 > 0:36:06After Kitty's health stabilised,
0:36:06 > 0:36:09she spent three months here, at St Francis,
0:36:09 > 0:36:12the ward for children and young people with spinal cord injuries,
0:36:12 > 0:36:14recovering and learning the skills
0:36:14 > 0:36:17she would need to live with her disability.
0:36:17 > 0:36:19Every time we come back here, it's like visiting family.
0:36:19 > 0:36:21- How are you?- Long time, no see.
0:36:21 > 0:36:23- Hi.- Hi.
0:36:23 > 0:36:25It's great to have you back. It's been too long.
0:36:25 > 0:36:29Stoke Mandeville National Spinal Injury Centre is one of the largest
0:36:29 > 0:36:32specialised spinal injury units in the world.
0:36:32 > 0:36:33During World War II,
0:36:33 > 0:36:36the hospital was used to treat military casualties,
0:36:36 > 0:36:40and in 1943 the government asked German expatriate,
0:36:40 > 0:36:44Dr Ludwig Guttmann, to establish the National Spinal Injury Centre.
0:36:44 > 0:36:48There comes a moment the patient is admitted to the Centre.
0:36:48 > 0:36:53He will find an atmosphere of hope.
0:36:53 > 0:36:57And this was quite a new conception in 1944,
0:36:57 > 0:37:00when this centre was started.
0:37:00 > 0:37:04He believed sport was an important therapeutic tool,
0:37:04 > 0:37:07and his Stoke Mandeville Games became the inspiration for
0:37:07 > 0:37:10the establishment of the Paralympic Games, in 1960.
0:37:10 > 0:37:13Kitty actually had the honour of taking part in the
0:37:13 > 0:37:162012 Paralympic closing ceremony.
0:37:16 > 0:37:18I will never forget it.
0:37:18 > 0:37:22Watched by millions, it was one of the proudest days of my life.
0:37:22 > 0:37:26And it couldn't have happened without the help of this hospital.
0:37:26 > 0:37:29It's great coming back into this room. This is where we always
0:37:29 > 0:37:33- would stay...if you were here just for a day.- I remember.
0:37:33 > 0:37:37- You used to get on that bed and play with the little... Look - this, didn't you?- Yeah, yeah.
0:37:37 > 0:37:40Up and down, didn't you? All the time. Ooh, there we go, look.
0:37:40 > 0:37:43Do you remember how you felt the first time you came here?
0:37:43 > 0:37:46Yeah, I remember feeling quite scared, and...
0:37:46 > 0:37:49But, as I came in, everyone was just big smiles on their faces.
0:37:49 > 0:37:51I made friends, like, super quickly.
0:37:51 > 0:37:53I remember coming here not knowing anything,
0:37:53 > 0:37:56not even knowing how to push and...I can do wheelies,
0:37:56 > 0:37:58I can get from kerbs, I can get onto the bed.
0:37:58 > 0:38:00Show me your wheelie now.
0:38:00 > 0:38:02Show me your wheelie now.
0:38:02 > 0:38:03Spin.
0:38:03 > 0:38:05LUCY LAUGHS
0:38:05 > 0:38:08- And you couldn't do that seven years ago!- No.
0:38:08 > 0:38:10I'm convinced that the social interaction Kitty had here
0:38:10 > 0:38:13was just as important as her medical care.
0:38:13 > 0:38:17And also visiting today is someone we've got to know really well.
0:38:17 > 0:38:18Ethan Adams.
0:38:18 > 0:38:20Is he in here?
0:38:20 > 0:38:23- Hello.- Hello.- Hello! How are you? I haven't seen you!
0:38:23 > 0:38:25- Yeah, fine. You? - So lovely to see you.
0:38:25 > 0:38:27When I first came here,
0:38:27 > 0:38:31I met you guys as a family and I was telling your dad,
0:38:31 > 0:38:33"Oh, nobody knows, you know?
0:38:33 > 0:38:35"There's this thing that's happened to Kitty and it's called
0:38:35 > 0:38:37"transverse myelitis."
0:38:37 > 0:38:38- And you said...- Guess what?
0:38:38 > 0:38:41That's what Ethan had as well. Yes, it is still rare, it's just
0:38:41 > 0:38:43concentrated, here, isn't it?
0:38:43 > 0:38:46- So, have you finished school yet? - Yeah.- Have you?- Yeah.
0:38:46 > 0:38:48- And what are you doing? - An apprenticeship at the family business.
0:38:48 > 0:38:51- So you're working? And how is he? - He's doing well, yes.
0:38:51 > 0:38:53- Coming up to scratch?- Yeah, he's quite independent, actually.
0:38:53 > 0:38:55He's got his own assistant,
0:38:55 > 0:38:57and we work mostly in different buildings, actually.
0:38:57 > 0:39:02A big part of our journey is Kitty's physiotherapist, Kirsten Hart.
0:39:02 > 0:39:05And, while we're here, they're fitting in an extra session.
0:39:05 > 0:39:09Let's stick these electrodes on, first of all.
0:39:09 > 0:39:12Kitty still needs to do regular exercise to move her joints
0:39:12 > 0:39:15and maintain her muscle strength.
0:39:15 > 0:39:18The FES bike - functional electrical stimulation -
0:39:18 > 0:39:20is part of her daily routine.
0:39:20 > 0:39:22We have a simple model at home, and when we're here
0:39:22 > 0:39:25Kirsten uses it to measure how Kitty's getting on.
0:39:25 > 0:39:33The pads send an electrical impulse which make my muscles spasm,
0:39:33 > 0:39:34but not in a hurty way.
0:39:34 > 0:39:38And...it moves the...
0:39:38 > 0:39:42pedals around and I have all feeling in my legs,
0:39:42 > 0:39:45but it's just I have occasional patchy areas,
0:39:45 > 0:39:49so it doesn't feel the same as it would on my arm.
0:39:49 > 0:39:52I wouldn't say I love doing the exercises but, I mean,
0:39:52 > 0:39:54I know that they're good for me.
0:39:54 > 0:39:56While Kitty does the hard work,
0:39:56 > 0:40:00I'm using the opportunity to catch up with Sister Sara O'Shea.
0:40:00 > 0:40:01Although we've been here a lot,
0:40:01 > 0:40:04I don't think there's ever been the right time to say a
0:40:04 > 0:40:05proper thank you.
0:40:05 > 0:40:07What's it like for you, seeing Kitty now?
0:40:07 > 0:40:08Because I know you can remember
0:40:08 > 0:40:10what she was like when she first came here?
0:40:10 > 0:40:14Yeah, I think I always knew Kitty had that potential
0:40:14 > 0:40:17to be just a really independent young woman.
0:40:17 > 0:40:19I look at her today and she's just stunning.
0:40:19 > 0:40:25And to see her independence and her thriving is...
0:40:25 > 0:40:28I've got to...I've got to thank you,
0:40:28 > 0:40:32and I want to thank you because I can remember coming here
0:40:32 > 0:40:37and we'd just come off the back of being on a life-support machine...
0:40:37 > 0:40:39- You're going to make me cry. - I know, I know.
0:40:39 > 0:40:42But we'd come here and it was really sad and we thought it was
0:40:42 > 0:40:43the end of the world.
0:40:43 > 0:40:46I'm not joking - well, you can remember how Stewart and I were.
0:40:46 > 0:40:49Stewart practically carried her in here.
0:40:49 > 0:40:53- And you.- And me - I mean, I was in a bad place.
0:40:53 > 0:40:55You gave her the best grounding.
0:40:55 > 0:40:58You, 100%... In fact, I'm going to be honest now Sara,
0:40:58 > 0:41:00you were a little bit scary.
0:41:00 > 0:41:01You did used to frighten me.
0:41:01 > 0:41:05Because I would be doing things for her like dressing her,
0:41:05 > 0:41:08and putting on her socks and you would come in and say,
0:41:08 > 0:41:12"Well, she should be doing that herself. Why are you doing that? Kitty!"
0:41:12 > 0:41:13And you'd tell us off.
0:41:13 > 0:41:17You've got lots other people around you that are...
0:41:17 > 0:41:21being sympathetic and you don't need any more of that.
0:41:21 > 0:41:24What you need is direction.
0:41:24 > 0:41:26It's true. You are so right.
0:41:26 > 0:41:29You 100% gave us direction.
0:41:29 > 0:41:31Because I knew Kitty could do that.
0:41:31 > 0:41:32And I knew if you...
0:41:32 > 0:41:37do those things for her, she becomes so reliant,
0:41:37 > 0:41:40and then can't cope with other things in life.
0:41:40 > 0:41:42And dressing is just, like, a small part.
0:41:42 > 0:41:46But if you start off with that and the belief that you can do that,
0:41:46 > 0:41:50then that arms Kitty with the belief that she can do other things.
0:41:50 > 0:41:54Because I was seven when this happened, so I'd already...
0:41:55 > 0:42:00I feel like I'm quite lucky because I've already had that feeling of
0:42:00 > 0:42:03running around. But, I mean, all my friends are really supportive.
0:42:05 > 0:42:07Now we're teenagers, anyway, we're all quite lazy,
0:42:07 > 0:42:10so we just sit on the sofa, anyway, to be honest.
0:42:11 > 0:42:15This is the best part of my job, is seeing people when they come back.
0:42:17 > 0:42:23Kitty coming in, looking stunning, and feisty as ever and determined.
0:42:23 > 0:42:25And seeing you as a family...
0:42:26 > 0:42:28..that's what makes my job.
0:42:28 > 0:42:31- You do love it, don't you?- I love it. I wouldn't do anything else.
0:42:38 > 0:42:39You've got to stop crying.
0:42:39 > 0:42:41SARA LAUGHS
0:42:41 > 0:42:44No, cos that's when I stop caring. I mean, if I stop caring...
0:42:44 > 0:42:45Let's drink to Kitty, come on.
0:42:45 > 0:42:47..that's time to give up.
0:42:47 > 0:42:51- Shame it's only coffee. - Yeah, quite.
0:42:51 > 0:42:53I think for me,
0:42:53 > 0:42:55if I do allow myself to go back
0:42:55 > 0:42:58to what I felt when I first came here...
0:42:59 > 0:43:03..makes me, immediately, feel emotional because it was...
0:43:03 > 0:43:06I'm in a very different place now, very different place.
0:43:06 > 0:43:09And so is Kitty, to where we are now.
0:43:11 > 0:43:14I didn't know what was ahead, years ago,
0:43:14 > 0:43:16and now I just know whatever she does,
0:43:16 > 0:43:18she's going to do so well.
0:43:18 > 0:43:22And it's been emotional seeing other people I know be emotional,
0:43:22 > 0:43:24and we've all had a bit of a cry.
0:43:24 > 0:43:26But it's been...
0:43:26 > 0:43:29It's made me feel I'm a lucky person to have a hospital like this
0:43:29 > 0:43:30to support us and our family.
0:43:31 > 0:43:32It's been brilliant.
0:43:35 > 0:43:39It's been another emotional visit, but it's not over just yet.
0:43:39 > 0:43:40Completely unknown to me,
0:43:40 > 0:43:44Kitty has a final surprise that she's cooked up with her dad.
0:43:44 > 0:43:48I've also got a little thank you note that I wrote.
0:43:48 > 0:43:49Ah...!
0:43:49 > 0:43:50Erm...
0:43:52 > 0:43:53Aw, Kits!
0:43:53 > 0:43:55"Dear everyone at Stoke Mandeville.
0:43:55 > 0:43:57"I just wanted to thank you all from the bottom of my heart
0:43:57 > 0:44:00"for everything that you've done for me.
0:44:00 > 0:44:02"You have all been so caring and helpful
0:44:02 > 0:44:04"and I really appreciate all of your efforts.
0:44:04 > 0:44:07"You have helped me to learn to adjust to being in a wheelchair
0:44:07 > 0:44:11"and taught me so many useful things that have enabled me to carry on
0:44:11 > 0:44:13"having a normal life as I possibly can.
0:44:15 > 0:44:16"I think that all of you are amazing
0:44:16 > 0:44:19"and I'm grateful for all of your support. Love, Kitty."
0:44:19 > 0:44:22- That's so lovely!- Thank you!
0:44:22 > 0:44:24When did you do that?
0:44:24 > 0:44:26- I wrote it with Dad, yeah. - Aw...
0:44:27 > 0:44:29- See you soon.- Bye.
0:44:29 > 0:44:31The NHS might not be perfect,
0:44:31 > 0:44:34but this journey has showed me how far it's come,
0:44:34 > 0:44:37and the fact Kitty will grow up to be a happy,
0:44:37 > 0:44:41productive adult is the greatest gift the NHS could have given us.