UWE student goes viral as her halls overlooks the hospital where she beat cancer 17 years ago

The father of a UWE student has shared the inspirational story of moving his daughter into halls that overlook the same hospital “she spent six months fighting for her life against leukaemia” as a baby.

Maggie Dorey, from Bude in Cornwall, spent six months in Bristol Children’s Hospital in 2004. She is about to start her first year at the University of the West of England studying Fine Art.

Her dad, Martin Dorey, shared the story on Twitter, paying tribute to the NHS in a tweet that has been retweeted over 8,000 times and has 150,000 likes.

With the story receiving such huge attention, the nurses who helped save Maggie’s life as a baby were able to reach out on Twitter. Jamie Cargill, a paediatric cancer nurse who helped treat Maggie, replied saying: “It’s such a delight to see her grow and succeed.”

The family were so grateful for the treatment Maggie received, they named their second daughter, Charlie, after one of the nurses who treated Maggie. Charlotte was one of the nurses  that saved her life after she had a severe allergic reaction to chemotherapy.

The tweet has given other people space to talk and remember their own children who received cancer treatment.

It’s also inspired hope in other hospital workers as one young doctor tweeted: “If all this stress ends in something like this then it’ll all be worth it.”

Despite endless requests for interviews, Martin instead has used his platform to encourage people to contribute to the CLIC Sargent Fund.

He said it was to “to pay them back for the love and care they gave”, adding: “They gave us a home in Bristol for six months – free. We owe them.”

Maggie is now healthy and free of cancer. She told the BBC: “It captured everyone’s imagination, the reaction has been incredible, so many people have been in touch.

“It’s quite emotional, coming full circle to start my life at university, which I could not have done without the hospital.”

Featured Image Credit: @campervanlinving/Twitter

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