24 Hours in A&E

Mum's the Word (4x5)

Air date: Dec 11, 2013

Twelve-year-old Eddie is brought into A&E by ambulance after being hit by a car on his way home from school. Eddie's head 'bullseyed' the windscreen and he was thrown, somersaulting twice before landing on the pavement. Eddie's accompanied by his sister Chloe while his mum, Justine, rushes back from a rare day out with friends in central London to be by his side. It turns out this is the accident-prone schoolboy's fourth visit to A&E on a blue light. Concerned that Eddie may have suffered a bleed on the brain, consultant Liz sends him for a CT scan. And when blood is detected in his urine, Eddie is sent for a second scan in case of damage to his kidneys. Linda, who's 64, is brought into King's after suffering from respiratory failure at home. Having recently undergone an operation to treat cancer, she now breathes with the help of a tracheostomy, a small hole in her windpipe. And, as her vocal chords had to be removed, Linda communicates with the medical team by writing notes. Linda reflects on what it was like to lose her voice, working as an undertaker and going on pub crawls with her late husband, John. Meanwhile, 20-year-old student Amy has come into King's with her friend Helena after coughing up blood and experiencing headaches and chest pain. And Courtney, who's also 20, has been sent to King's by her optician, who detected an unusual swelling behind her eyes.