Jubilee

 

There’s a lot of hype at the moment about the queen’s jubilee year as she became queen in 1952. Queen Elizabeth and I have one thing in common as it is also my ‘jubilee’ year as I will be sixty years old in December. 

In 1952 I was born at home, which was the norm in those days, but there were problems with the placenta. Eventually the doctor was summoned but when he arrived my mum had lost a lot of blood and continued to haemorrhage. Eventually, the doctor was able to remove the placenta and mum was taken to hospital in an emergency ambulance. Apparently, in all the commotion, I was nearly left behind at home. Mum was transfused with six pints of blood over the next few days and it was not known if she would recover. She described the feeling of peace during those few days and as a result, she always maintained that she would never be frightened of dying if death was so serene. She remembered a vision of 6 little angels around her bed, whom she felt were with her during this critical time. Subsequently she did have a peaceful death many years later and as my brothers and sister and I were at her bedside, she described us as 'little angels round her bed'. Deja vu!!

 Now, obviously, I don’t remember the queen’s coronation as I was only 6 months old, but I have heard the local stories and seen old TV footage. Practically every street organised a street party and during our street party, my mum and dad were paired in a three legged race. They fell over and my dad landed on top of my mum and unfortunately, she broke her pelvis!  

So the family memories of 1952/3 are not necessarily of celebration but of worry and hospital. I am not surprised that I eventually chose nursing as my career!!