Holidaymaker's eternal thanks to Morriston staff who saved her life

PICTURED: Jenny and husband Craig Leehy with the Cardiac ITU staff at Morriston Hospital.

An Australian holidaymaker who almost lost her life while holidaying on the other side of the world has thanked the Morriston Hospital staff who saved her life following a 12-hour major heart operation.

Jenny Leehy, from Newcastle in New South Wales, underwent emergency surgery after her aorta – the body’s main artery – ruptured, which gives only a 25 per cent chance of survival.

The surgery included the installation of a mechanical aortic valve replacement - a procedure that involves having to stop the heart, which meant she was clinically ‘dead’ for 29 minutes - in order to replace her damaged aortic valve with a prosthetic tube graft and mechanical valve.

She then spent a month recovering in Morriston Hospital – including five days on life support - on the Cardiac Intensive Therapy Unit, High Dependency Unit and Dan Danino Ward.

PICTURED: Jenny and Craig Leehy were only due to spend one day of their European holiday in Swansea, but ended up spending over a month in South West Wales.

The level or care and treatment she received means she is now able to fly home with husband Craig to make an emotional reunion with her family.

While her holiday may not have been the trip she’d looked forward to, Jenny says Swansea and the hospital staff involved in her care will forever be in her heart.

Jenny said: “The staff have been absolutely amazing. These people saved my life, and I’ll forever be indebted to them. These people are heroes.

“We were very lucky it happened here when it did. If it happened anywhere else, then I don’t think I’d be here right now.

“We have both been very, very impressed by the NHS – we do not get this level of attention back home. Our health care system in Australia is private and we have a major shortage of nurses in New South Wales, but here I had one-to-one care.

“Everyone in the Swansea area, Wales and the UK should be very proud of the NHS. Swansea will forever be in my heart.

“I spent a month in Morriston Hospital – thousands and thousands of miles from home – but the staff felt like part of my family. The nurses, matrons, physios, surgeons - their love, care and attention was that good.

“Craig, too, had such amazing support. I felt so sorry for him – he didn’t have anyone he knew here until my daughter flew in from Perth to support us, but the staff were so helpful with him.

“Craig was told that even though I was their patient and was being cared for, they classed him as their patient too as he needed support.

“They went above and beyond for him, even helping him with accommodation. He stayed at Morriston Hospital’s League of Friends accommodation at Clos George Morgan, which was great as it’s only a few hundred yards away from the hospital.”

PICTURED: Jenny and the physiotherapists who were involved in her rehabilitation following her surgery.

Jenny, who is now retired after working as a school administration manager, had flown from the east coast of Australia to spend Christmas with their grandson, son and his wife in Germany.

However, she fell ill and spent Christmas Day in hospital before being discharged.

They took in the sights of Paris, London and the Cotswolds before heading to Swansea to continue their European adventure.

As fate would have it, they had planned to switch their trip to Swansea to take in other parts of Wales – but Craig believes it could have saved his wife’s life.

Craig said: “The plan was to zig zag our way through Wales and England and head to Edinburgh then Belfast before flying home on January 25.

“The funny thing is that we weren’t actually meant to stay in Swansea. I’d booked it as part of the trip, but we were going to change the plan and head somewhere else, but I’d chosen the non-refundable option on the booking by mistake.

“It turns out that mistake probably helped save Jenny’s life.

“It has been a very traumatic time – not quite the holiday we had planned – but I’m so grateful to all the staff at Morriston for what they’ve done.

“They made us feel like Jenny was the only patient in the hospital.”

Jenny has continued her recovery with regular sessions in Morriston with the physiotherapy team, and was discharged this week by the surgeon who performed her operation - Consultant Cardiothoracic Surgeon Fabio Falconieri.

Doctor Falconieri said: “We are delighted that Jenny has made an excellent recovery from a life-threatening operation.

PICTURED: Consultant Cardiothoracic Surgeon Fabio Falconieri performed the 12-hour operation that saved Jenny's life.

“Dissection repair is a procedure which is performed an average of 12-15 times a year in Morriston Hospital, so it’s not really rare but definitely not a common routine case.

“Part of the technique I used is an established technique but it had never been used in Morriston before my arrival here in July 2022. I introduced it here having learned it during my training.

“I’m really proud of everyone who has been involved in Jenny’s care. It’s been a perfect example of the care we provide and staff and services working so well together.

“We wish Jenny and Craig a safe trip home.”

Jenny and Craig, who have been married for 12 years, will now leave South Wales for New South Wales, with Swansea – a name more than familiar to them before their holiday - etched in their hearts.

Jenny said: “We live in Lake Macquarie, which is near Newcastle in New South Wales, and Craig works in Cardiff while Swansea is only 30 minutes away from us. We actually have a place called Singleton an hour away from where we live.

“But every time we see Swansea back home, we will always be thinking of the people who saved my life in Swansea, Wales.”