Tracey Bryant Withers
22.5K posts
@cymruchickTS
#LFC #thescriptfamily. mum of 2 one son here with me & one angel daughter #forever17 #DIPG #Tyhafan #TCT #ClicSargent
Speaking at the press conference, Charlotte Hennessy, who lost her dad in the disaster, hit out at match commander David Duckenfield, who the IOPC say is one of the officers who would have had cases to answer if they were still serving today ⬇️
I have put this off for 5 years but April is Teenage and Young Adult Cancer Awareness Month so it is time to share this difficult read for which I make no apology. My son Joe was diagnosed with a brain tumour on Dec 24th 2019 and died on 3rd Jan 2020 aged just 26. Joe visited the GP 6 time over 3 months with multiple symptoms and was never diagnosed. I took Joe to AE on 18th Dec 2019 and he was immediately admitted and it was agreed he had a neurological issue. On the 20th Dec Joe was transferred to the main hospital and put in a 6 bed bay on a neurology ward with 5 elderly men with ongoing dementia like challenges. The man in the next bed had obviously died just prior to Joe being admitted and was not taken from the ward for several hours. Joe had a number of scans and we were told on 24th Dec there was a growth in his brainstem but it could wait until the full team came in after Christmas for further diagnosis as not urgent. I asked on multiple occasions to have Joe moved as he was extremely concerned about the ward he had been placed on. The other patients were agitated and loud and one violently assaulted one of the nursing team. I was told due to staff shortages, Christmas and overcrowding that was not possible. When the neurosurgical team came in on the 27th Dec they realised the problem was a lot more serious than they had told us and scheduled Joe for surgery on NYE. Joe was very distressed at this point a combination of his symptoms, diagnosis and the high doses of steroids he was on. We stayed with Joe most of this time as there were almost no staff around. On the one occasion we went home to try and get some sleep the ward called at 2am asking if I would come back in as Joe was agitated. One night Joe needed an emergency intervention from the physio and respiratory team as the bedside lights were all broken they had to do it via mobile phone torches further distressing Joe. On the 30 Dec we met two nurses who's job apparently was to tour the hospital and make sure patients were being cared for correctly. On hearing our story they tried to get Joe moved to the neurosurgical ward which was full but instead had him moved to critical care due to his deterioration. At this point Joe was starting to physically struggle against interventions and was therefore sedated the day before his operation to help him, that was the last time we spoke to him. Joe's operation was ultimately unsuccessful and treatment was withdrawn on 3rd Jan. Just prior to that decision being taken the senior nurse in the critical care unit while attaching yet another fluid pump for Joe remarked to me "At least he is getting his monies worth". That summed up the care my son received. I post this not for likes but because we have to do better to diagnose and treat our young people. This was in 2019 and not in 1919 BTW. @BrainTumourOrg @braintumourrsch @Pierstownley
