Medical staff get mother of the bride to the church on time

Karen Kitchen, a former nurse who trained and worked at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital, was walking her dog, Alfie, when he chased after a cat, pulling her to the ground and injuring her.

At first Karen, 53, thought she had simply hurt her arm, but she woke up in the early hours of her daughter’s wedding day in tremendous pain.

Karen, from Newport, said: “I originally thought I had just hurt my shoulder. I took some pain killers and went to bed, but then I woke up in the early hours in a lot more pain and it was obvious I’d done a bit more damage than I first thought and that I needed it looked at.

“My husband, Steve, took me to the Princess Royal Hospital at around 3am. I went into triage almost immediately – I was no more than five minutes in the waiting room. Everything went very swiftly from there.

“The doctors on A&E sent me for an X-ray and diagnosed the dislocation and the fracture. They tried to put the shoulder back in place two or three times, but couldn’t and had to call for an orthopaedic doctor.

“He came down and also tried, but then told me I would need surgery.”

Karen had already told staff that it was her daughter’s wedding day, but when she realised she might not make it to the midday ceremony she burst into tears.

Karen, who made the wedding cake and bridesmaids’ dresses for the wedding on 31 May, said: “They told me I would be in surgery at around 9am and then it would be six hours before I could go home.

“At about 6am I rang my daughter and told her and she was quite upset. I said to my husband that he might as well go and support her because there was quite a lot to do. The wedding cake needed taking to Haughton Hall for the reception.”

But just when all looked lost, Orthopaedic Specialist Raj Thangaraj came to the rescue.

Karen said: “He said to me: ‘You’ve got a wedding to get to haven’t you?’ He asked me what time the wedding was and where it was and said he would do everything he could to get me there on time.

“I went into surgery at about 9.30am. I woke up at about 10am and the nurses were waiting for me. I had the discharge papers signed for me while I was in recovery.

“I went back to the ward and the nurses showered me and did my hair. My sister brought my clothes in for me and there was a Healthcare Assistant on Ward 10 who did my make-up.

“The staff, both in the theatre and on Ward 10, were unbelievable.

“The treatment I received was first class. I cannot thank the Princess Royal Hospital enough. They were truly amazing.”

Karen was in a sling for the wedding between her daughter Amy and Russell Guthrie at St Peter’s in Edgmond, but it was blue and matched the shoes, handbag and fascinator of her outfit.

She said: “I got a message to my daughter that I was going to be there. I think she got it as she and my husband were on their way to the church. She was quite emotional when she saw me.”

Mr Thangaraj said: “I was on call on the Saturday. I came in at 8am and went into the trauma meeting and they told me about Mrs Kitchen and that she had a wedding to go to.

“We were just doing our job, but it was great that we had everything ready to go and that we were able to get her to the wedding.

“That day we did six or seven cases, but we were able to squeeze her in first to make sure she got to the wedding.”