Nurse walked nine miles in the snow to save my life (she did it twice, actually)

The Evening Standard (U.K.) / various ^ | February 13, 2009 | Anna Davis

[Stoat]

 

Dedicated: Nurse Debbie Noble, right, walked to treat kidney patient Steph Crawford

 

Nurse walked nine miles in the snow to save my life

Anna Davis
13.02.09

 

A nurse walked nine miles through deep snow two days in a row to save the life of a patient who required kidney dialysis and was trapped at home.

Renal nurse Debbie Noble, 49, made the four-hour round trip to help Steph Crawford fearing she could die without the treatment.

Mrs Crawford, 45, from Ewell, suffers from kidney failure. She could not drive to her usual dialysis centre in Kingston, and ambulances could not reach her as roads were blocked by snow.

Without dialysis, Mrs Crawford becomes increasingly breathless as fluid builds up around her lungs, which could ultimately be fatal.

The mother-of-two said: "What she did was amazing. She says it is just her job but not many people would have got hiking boots and waterproof trousers on and gone out in 14 inches of snow."

Mrs Noble had previously been working with Mrs Crawford to help her use a dialysis machine in her own home but the machinery was not ready to be used on the day of the snow.

Mrs Noble walked four-and-a-half miles from her home in Ashtead to Ewell to install the machine properly and begin treating Mrs Crawford at home.

She then made the same trip the next day to help Mrs Crawford with her treatment.

Mrs Crawford said: "When I couldn't get to the dialysis unit, I thought I was going to have to be rescued by a helicopter because I would be so ill.

"I tried to work the machine myself but it wouldn't. When I spoke to Debbie on the phone she told me not to panic and said she was on her way over."

When Mrs Noble arrived, she rang technicians at Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust, where she has been based for four years, who helped her to get the machine running.

Mrs Crawford added: "After she got the machine working she then walked all the way home - and then did it all again the next day.

"The fact is without dialysis I would have died. I need dialysis at least three times a week, and by the second day, I would have been in real trouble."

Mrs Noble, who wasn't scheduled to work on the first day she made her long walk in the snow, said: "Everyone at the trust worked hard over those two days.

"Lots of people went above and beyond to take care of the people who needed it. Everyone's been mucking in."

She added: "At work you sometimes get a 'yes' moment when something works. Walking home in the snow with the moon shining was one of those moments that you store up for a rainy day."

Mrs Crawford said: "There aren't enough words to say how thankful I am to her. She is literally a life saver."

[Stoat]

Hail the British nurse! There are still some rugged industrial-strength tough ones, in the tradition of the toughest of them all, F. Nightingale. Bless you for posting this story.

Thank you so much for your kind words.  Nurses everywhere are the main reason why critically ill people get better, and in this case she did what many people wouldn't have in order to serve a person in need.

[Stoat]

She added: "At work you sometimes get a 'yes' moment when something works. Walking home in the snow with the moon shining was one of those moments that you store up for a rainy day."

This woman functions on a very high spiritual level. God bless her and all the other selfless souls who labor for the well being of others, often with little reward, other than the priceless moments like the one she describes.

Well-said, thank you.  :-)

She added: "At work you sometimes get a 'yes' moment when something works. Walking home in the snow with the moon shining was one of those moments that you store up for a rainy day."

This woman functions on a very high spiritual level. God bless her and all the other selfless souls who labor for the well being of others, often with little reward, other than the priceless moments like the one she describes.

[Stoat]

She even went so far as to donate a kidney of her own. The chap died of a heart attack a few years post-transplant, but his life was better for knowing her.

A wonderful and touching story; thanks so much for posting  :-)

[Stoat]

Thanks for posting such a sweet story....

You're quite welcome and I'm delighted that you enjoyed it  :-)

[jla]

It’s a wonderful human events story. There are hundreds of other non-UK articles posted here. Why don’t you go and read those instead of bringing your black cloud over this one?

[jla]

I don’t get why this is a story. She just did her job. If she said ‘oh I can’t be arsed walking 9 miles in the snow’ and that kidney patient had died, she would be quite rightly railed against for being negligent and indifferent. It wasn’t like she went above and beyond like an actual hero. Hell, I’ve walked 30 miles up a mountain wearing a backpack and all the back down again just for a laugh (well, for charity). If I couldn’t have mustered myself to do the same again or less to actually save someone’s life, that would make me someone who was utterly beneath contempt. Why doesn’t the story applaud her for not stealing her purse and knick-knacks on the way out as well?

I don't get why you felt compelled to alert us that you hiked, "well, for charity".
I myself always give anonymously, never seeking recognition. It's the deed, not the pat-on-the-back, that counts. And this nurse, a (so-called) common lady, did an uncommon act. I just bet she never expected this to be publicized, doing it only because it was the right thing to do.

[sinsofsolarempirefan]

“I don’t get why you felt compelled to alert us that you hiked, “well, for charity”.
I myself always give anonymously, never seeking recognition. It’s the deed, not the pat-on-the-back, that counts. And this nurse, a (so-called) common lady, did an uncommon act. I just bet she never expected this to be publicized, doing it only because it was the right thing to do.”

You don’t know what charity I did it for or who I am. I pointed it out to illustrate a point. I’m not even trying to make out that what I did was some kind of super-heroic deed, or that I deserve a round of applause from the likes of you, only that I have done something probably a lot more difficult for a much less compelling reason. If she didn’t walk 9 miles, someone would have died. Anyone who didn’t do that would fall below the minimum standards of what should be expected from a human being.
She did her job. It was a bit more difficult on those two days than normal, but it was still the least that could have been expected of her...