IN-SPUR-ATIONAL
Penny Lancaster is reduced to tears as she gives bone marrow donor Ronnie Musselwhite, 5, The Sun’s Young Hero award
PENNY Lancaster was reduced to tears as she handed five-year-old Ronnie Musselwhite the Young Hero gong at The Sun’s Who Cares Wins health awards last night.
Spurs fan Ronnie bravely offered to give his older sister Ebonie a bone marrow transplant last year.
Eight-year-old Ebonie had leukaemia and it was her only hope.
Mum Christine Jenkins, 40, said: “Ronnie’s stem cells worked perfectly. They did what they were supposed to do but the leukaemia came back somewhere new.”
Ebonie, of Crawley, West Sussex, nominated her younger brother before her death in June.
Rod Stewart’s partner Penny chatted with Ronnie about his love of football and Spurs.
She said: “To say I am humbled to be here is an understatement. Sometimes you think life has turned a corner on you, but then someone else turns up to give you some inspiration.
"The courage this little man has shown is absolutely incredible. He’s only five years old, he’s lost a sister.
"He was incredibly shy to stand up in front of everyone to collect his award, but he again was so brave.”
Christine said: “We want Ronnie to know that what he did still worked, was still brave, even though he lost his sister.”
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He presented an award to a pair of quick-thinking hospital porters who saved the life of a seven-week-old baby boy.
Nick Evans, 48, and Ruth Lowe, 47, sprang into action after Logan Clifford stopped breathing.
His parents, Sarah and Mike were visiting a relative at the Princess Royal Hospital in Telford, Shrops, when they noticed Logan’s lips had turned blue.
Sarah’s screams alerted Ruth, who shouted for Nick. He grabbed Logan and performed CPR as he ran half a mile down the corridor to A&E.
Nick continued CPR until the resuscitation team took over – and the porters stayed by Logan’s parents’ side until they knew he was going to be OK. Sarah, 30, has called the two porters “my heroes”.
As he handed the pair the Ultimate Lifesaver trophy, the PM said: “The NHS is revered around the world, and in no small part due to the heroes working in it every day.”
He added: “My experience of the NHS is like everybody else in the NHS - one of admiration and love.
"It is the most extraordinary institution in the world. If our country was an omelette then the NHS is the egg white that holds the great British cake together.”
Virgin Radio DJ Chris Evans presented the Best Nurse gong to Liz Monaghan, 53. She set up the widely praised Purple Rose initiative, which aims to improve the care for patients – and their loved ones – in the last days of their life.
Liz, who works at the Florence Nightingale Hospice, based at the Stoke Mandeville Hospital in Aylesbury, Bucks, said: “I’m a little embarrassed to have won. I’m a small part of a big team.”
DJ Chris said: “You’ve got to prepare yourself for nights like this because otherwise they hit you like an express train.
Who Cares Wins Awards: The winners
BEST HEALTH CHARITY
Winner: Matt Hampson Foundation
Former English rugby union player Matt Hampson set up a charity to help others after being left paralysed in a scrum in 2005.
Other nominees: Superhero Foundation and Team Domenica
BEST NEONATAL SPECIALIST
Winner: Professor Kypros Nicolaides
Professor Nicolaides performed pioneering keyhole surgeon on Sherrie Sharp’s unborn son Jaxon. By extraordinary coincidence, as a young surgeon, he also operated on Sherrie’s mother when she was in the womb.
Other nominees: Dr Vesna Pavasovic and Professor Massimo Caputo
UNSUNG HERO
Winner: Therapeutic Care Volunteers at South Tees NHS Foundation Trust
30 therapeutic care volunteers, who all have a learning or physical disability, give up their time to support patients with spinal injuries at The James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough. They include Ify Nwokoro.
Other nominees: Ben Slack and Rob Allen
GROUNDBREAKING PIONEER
Winner: Guy’s and St Thomas’ London Auditory Brainstem Implant (ABI) Service
Leia Armitage, eight, was born with a rare form of deafness and was never expected to speak. But she now can thanks to pioneering brain surgery and speech therapy carried out by Guy’s and St Thomas’ London Auditory Brainstem Implant (ABI) Service.
Other nominees: Dr Helen Spencer and Girish Vajramani
BEST DOCTOR
Winner: Dr Matthew Boulter
Dr Boulter served in Afghanistan, teaches wild trauma to army medics and his surgery became the first in Cornwall to be given veteran friendly accreditation.
Other nominees: Margaret France and Dr Bijay Sinha
BEST MIDWIFE
Winner: Jane Parke
Jane helped deliver the youngest surviving twin boys in Britain when they were born at 22 weeks last year. She flew 190 miles with their mum Jennie Powell to a specialist neonatal unit.
Other nominees: Charlotte Day and Nagmeh Teymourian
ULTIMATE LIFESAVER
Winner: Ruth Lowe and Nick Evans
Porters Ruth and Nick saved the life of Sarah and Mike Clifford’s seven-week-old baby Logan. He stopped breathing as they walked through the main entrance of The Princess Royal Hospital in Telford to visit a sick relative.
Other nominees: Dr Mark Forrest and Mike Merrett
BEST NURSE
Winner: Liz Monaghan
Liz is the Matron of the Florence Nightingale Hospice in Aylesbury, Bucks, and came up with the idea for the widely praised Purple Rose initiative to improve the care for patients in the last days of their lives.
Other nominees: Margaret Ballard and Carlton DeCosta
MENTAL HEALTH HERO
Winner: Ben West
Ben lost his brother Sam, 15, to suicide last year and since his death, has campaigned tirelessly to raise awareness for mental health.
Other nominees: Beth Gregan and Catherine Benfield
YOUNG HERO
Winner: Ronnie Musselwhite
Ronnie offered to help his sister Ebonie by giving her a bone marrow transplant when she was diagnosed with a rare form of leukaemia. Ebonie nominated her brother for his bravery before she died in June.
Other nominees: Bella Field and Kaitlyn Wright
“I only walked ten metres into the room tonight and I already nearly burst into tears three times.”
TV star Christine Lampard gave the Best Neonatal Specialist award to Prof Kypros Nicolaides, 66.
He was nominated by Sherrie Sharp, 29, of Horsham, West Sussex, for saving the life of her unborn baby son – and her own.
After scans revealed Jaxson had spina bifida, Sherrie was offered a termination. But she contacted Prof Nicolaides, a surgeon at King’s College Hospital, London.
He had saved her life 30 years earlier when she developed a rare blood disorder in her mum’s womb.
He agreed to perform ground-breaking surgery on Jaxson while he was in Sherrie’s womb.
Prof Nicolaides said: “I was delighted to be able to help.” Sherrie said: “He has saved so many generations of my family. He’s our guardian angel.”
The Duchess of York presented an award to the parents of Natasha Ednan-Laperouse, 15, who died of an allergic reaction to a sandwich from Pret.
The duchess said: “Can I just say to The Sun, I think you’re incredible. Every minute I’m sitting there and thinking I’m so lucky. The NHS, The Sun and all of you, this is what makes Britain so great.”
Lorraine Kelly, who presented the awards, said: “Earlier on this year my dad was very sick and we honestly thought we were going to lose him.
"It was really difficult and it was only because of the efforts of the NHS he’s still here. It’s fantastic.”
Who Cares Wins Awards: The winners
BEST HEALTH CHARITY
Nominees: Superhero Foundation
Team Domenica
Winner: Matt Hampson Foundation
Former English rugby union player Matt Hampson set up a charity to help others after being left paralysed in a scrum in 2005.
BEST NEONATAL SPECIALIST
Nominees: Dr Vesna Pavasovic
Professor Massimo Caputo
Winner: Professor Kypros Nicolaides
Professor Nicolaides performed pioneering keyhole surgeon on Sherrie Sharp’s unborn son Jaxon. By extraordinary coincidence, as a young surgeon, he also operated on Sherrie’s mother when she was in the womb.
UNSUNG HERO
Nominees: Ben Slack
Rob Allen
Winner: Therapeutic Care Volunteers at South Tees NHS Foundation Trust
30 therapeutic care volunteers, who all have a learning or physical disability, give up their time to support patients with spinal injuries at The James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough. They include Ify Nwokoro.
GROUNDBREAKING PIONEER
Nominees: Dr Helen Spencer
Girish Vajramani
Winner: Guy’s and St Thomas’ London Auditory Brainstem Implant (ABI) Service
Leia Armitage, eight, was born with a rare form of deafness and was never expected to speak. But she now can thanks to pioneering brain surgery and speech therapy carried out by Guy’s and St Thomas’ London Auditory Brainstem Implant (ABI) Service.
BEST DOCTOR
Nominees: Margaret France
Dr Bijay Sinha
Winner: Dr Matthew Boulter
Dr Boulter served in Afghanistan, teaches wild trauma to army medics and his surgery became the first in Cornwall to be given veteran friendly accreditation.
BEST MIDWIFE
Nominees: Charlotte Day
Nagmeh Teymourian
Winner: Jane Parke
Jane helped deliver the youngest surviving twin boys in Britain when they were born at 22 weeks last year. She flew 190 miles with their mum Jennie Powell to a specialist neonatal unit.
ULTIMATE LIFESAVER
Nominees: Dr Mark Forrest
Mike Merrett
Winner: Ruth Lowe and Nick Evans
Porters Ruth and Nick saved the life of Sarah and Mike Clifford’s seven-week-old baby Logan. He stopped breathing as they walked through the main entrance of The Princess Royal Hospital in Telford to visit a sick relative.
BEST NURSE
Nominees: Margaret Ballard
Carlton DeCosta
Winner: Liz Monaghan
Liz is the Matron of the Florence Nightingale Hospice in Aylesbury, Bucks, and came up with the idea for the widely praised Purple Rose initiative to improve the care for patients in the last days of their lives.
MENTAL HEALTH HERO
Nominees: Beth Gregan
Catherine Benfield
Winner: Ben West
Ben lost his brother Sam, 15, to suicide last year and since his death, has campaigned tirelessly to raise awareness for mental health.
YOUNG HERO
Nominees: Bella Field
Kaitlyn Wright
Winner: Ronnie Musselwhite
Ronnie offered to help his sister Ebonie by giving her a bone marrow transplant when she was diagnosed with a rare form of leukaemia. Ebonie nominated her brother for his bravery before she died in June.
MOST READ IN FABULOUS
Strictly judge Shirley Ballas presented the Unsung Hero award to Ify Nwokora, a paralysed basketball player now part of a team of volunteers at The James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough. Ify said: “I’m in shock.”
The Sun’s Editor-in- Chief Tony Gallagher said: “When we began these awards we were blown away by the number of nominations from readers who wanted to pay tribute to their health heroes.
“This year was no different. The strength of feeling for those who go above and beyond across the NHS and in the charity sector is truly remarkable.”
Boris Johnson thanks NHS staff at The Sun’s 2019 health awards
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