A grieving Wishaw family got the chance to thank ambulance staff for going above the call of duty to help their late aunt.
Sandra McLean, daughter Leah and her aunt Isabel Paterson, were left devastated when her beloved aunt, Anne Hattie, passed away from pneumonia and sepsis at the age of 64.
Anne, who had Down’s Syndrome, was a well-known face in Wishaw who Sandra described as “gentle soul with a heart of gold”.
Last month, Sandra appealed for the paramedics who went above and beyond the call of duty to help Anne after she contacted the emergency services when she took unwell.
And her pleas were answered when ambulance staff Karen McGowan and Suzi Hendry got in touch with Lanarkshire Live and the paramedics were reunited at Sandra’s home in Cambusnethan.
Sandra told Lanarkshire Live: “There’s been a whole range of emotions.
"I’ve had a few tears over the past few days but I’m so glad to meet Karen and Suzi because of all they did that day.
“Hopefully people who are reading will see that paramedics have got a really tough job and have so much to do.
“I’ve been guilty of it myself, I think we just forget just how difficult a job they have.”
“If anyone deserves a payrise it is those two,” continued Isabel.
“Anne couldn’t have got better care than what she got that day. The Queen wouldn’t have got better care.”
Sandra had previously said that she didn’t want to call for an ambulance because her aunt Anne was terrified of hospitals and ambulances.
This was because her mum went away in an ambulance and never came back.
However, Karen and Suzi put Anne’s mind at ease saying they were going on the bus to the bingo with her and even playing Sydney Devine, which was Anne’s favourite artist, while they took her in the ambulance to the hospital.
Karen told us: “I played Sydney Devine on my phone and we sang Tiny Bubbles and Blanket in the Ground in the waiting room.
“It’s nice to be recognised in this way and we thank Sandra and her family for the kind gesture.”
Suzi added: “We were gutted when we found out that Anne had sadly passed away.
“We are very thankful that the family wanted to say thanks.”
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