Praise for 'earth angels' who saved Fenland man's life

A Fenland grandad has described two carers as 'earth angels' after they saved his life giving him precious extra time with his dying wife.

The eighty-five-year-old who wants to be known simply as Paul was the sole carer for his wife Sheila as she battled bowel cancer until everything began to get on top of him.

As a result Paul's family together with Macmillan Cancer Support convinced him to get some additional help and recommended Outwell-based Pure Heart Homecare.

Paul said: "It was tough to make the decision to get some extra help but I needed it. Pure Heart Homecare were brilliant and provided the end of life care she needed. I looked after her day to day needs and they provided the support she needed to be in her own home.

"They made regular visits during the day so that I could rest and it made things so much easier for me. All the carers were just fantastic - they are true 'earth angels'."

It was during one of the routine visits for carers Annette Banton and Kelly Pooley that Paul suddenly started to feel unwell.

"I was in the kitchen," he said, "And all of a sudden I felt really unwell and had a pain in my jaw and arm. I called out to Kelly and she came through and I asked her to ring 999 - I then just collapsed.

"I have no memory of what happened after that but I was told both Kelly and Annette carried out CPR and kept going until the ambulance arrived. They were at the end of their shift and a few minutes later and they would have left.

"There is no doubt they saved my life, Sheila was bed bound and would have been too ill to help me even though I know she would have tried. Without Kelly and Annette I would not have been able to spend the last precious time Sheila had with her.

"We were married 63 years and we celebrated our wedding anniversary on September 26- she was really ill but she was determined to make it and she did and I know she died happy on October 4 surrounded by her family."

After his heart attack Paul had to spend a number of weeks in hospital, first at the Queen Elizabeth in King's Lynn and then in Papworth where surgeons thought he might need heart surgery but they managed to treat his condition with drugs, and he was able to return home to Sheila.

Paul, who this week took along gifts for Annette and Kelly to say thank you for what they did, said "The Pure Heart team looked after Sheila with the help of our children while I was in hospital and they did a fantastic job - I truly cannot thank them enough not only for how they cared for her but for saving me so I could be with Sheila at the end."