Thank you for saving my life

Sunderland Echo - United Kingdom
A BLIND and disabled mum today said an emotional thank-you to a Sunderland doctor for saving her life after an 11-year fight for treatment.
Christine Jennings, 43, went on a two-week hunger strike after claiming she could not get proper medical care for life-threatening Lyme Disease, which she caught after being bitten by a tick during a country walk.
The mum-of-four, from Hinckley, Leicestershire, was moved to tears when Professor Terry Daymond, of Sunderland Royal Hospital, stepped in to end her long battle for her treatment by offering his help.
The mum-of-four, who is wheelchair bound, had an operation yesterday after travelling up to Sunderland with her daughter, Rebecca Sabin.
Mrs Jennings said:"If it wasn't for Sunderland Royal Hospital and Professor Daymond, I would have no future.
"I've been fighting for 11-and-a-half years for somebody to help me and had virtually given up, but he has given me hope.
"I'm overwhelmed. I'm so relieved to have started my treatment. I feel like it is the first day of the rest of my life."
She added: "Professor Daymond has been amazing. He's done everything he can. I can't talk to him without crying. I know he's had to fight my corner to get me here.
"The staff have been wonderful. Everybody is so friendly. I've never been in a hospital like it, with the care and time they've got for everybody. I've been really touched by it."
Consultant rheumatologist Professor Daymond is believed to be one of the few doctors in the country who treats Lyme Disease, which is thought to affect about 300 people a year in this country.
Mrs Jennings has been blinded by rare eye diseases caused by her condition and it has left her wheelchair-bound, affecting her joints, organs and central nervous system.
Today, Mrs Jennings is having a tube, known as a Hickman line, put in her chest through which antibiotics and other treatments will be fed.
Daughter Rebecca, 22, has been her mum's full-time carer for the past 11 years and has travelled up to Sunderland with her.
She said: "I'm so grateful they've saved my mum. We want to say thank-you from the bottom of our hearts. Without treatment she would be dead.
"If it wasn't for Professor Daymond and the people at the hospital she wouldn't have any hope at all
"I'm so amazed by how nice everybody is. I can't thank the nurses, doctors and Professor Daymond enough.
"We've been in tears, not because we're upset but because of how good they are. I want the chief executive to know how much it means to us being in Sunderland."
Former interior designer and artist Mrs Jennings, who is also mum to Sebastian, 20, Jemma, 18, and 13-year-old Kelsey, will make regular visits to Sunderland over several years for treatment.