Heroic NHS worker walks through blizzard for two hours to get home after gruelling shift
An NHS worker was pictured walking through a blizzard to get home after her gruelling shift after disastrous weather cut off transport and almost left her stranded.
Laura Witham, a radiographer from Ipswich, was pictured close to the end of her arduous journey by her boyfriend James Pawsey.
Here is my girlfriend Laura Witham – nearly home after a 3.5 mile walk from the hospital after a nearly 13 hour night shift because the roads were impassable. My contribution was limited to hot chocolate on arrival. @IpswichHosp @Team_Ipswich pic.twitter.com/jhIFCAB1Rd
— Jamespawsey (@pawsey_james) March 1, 2018
The picture was taken after Laura trudged three and a half miles home from Ipswich Hospital following a night shift.
Laura texted James on her way home, and he snapped the photo of her on a snow-covered bridge from the balcony of their home.
James told The Mirror: ‘I’m always really proud of Laura, but seeing her walk 3.5 miles after a 13-hour night shift made me even more so.
‘When she’s on nights, I usually pick her up when I wake up in the morning, but couldn’t get the car out at all. It was stuck in masses of snow. All I could do was make her a hot chocolate when she got home.
‘After work, she waited for a bus for a while, but we both realised none were running, so she had to walk for nearly two hours.
‘She was up all night, but it’s been a struggle for her to get to hospital and back all week, so just got on with it. On Wednesday night, we tried to drive in, but it was impossible.’
James tweeted the picture of Laura, and was met with a wave of support and admiration.
wow, what a brilliant person she is, well done x
— Babs Bufton (@ada_bscakes) March 2, 2018
A true hero for simply working for the #NHS in these very, very hard times.
As for doing what they are having to do at the moment in these conditions is unbelievable. Her and her colleagues so deserve better treatment.
Please pass on my thanks. You should be so proud— GµbbÎηS (@Gubbins1969) March 2, 2018
What a tremendous effort. Please pass on our thanks. We hope she’s managed to warm up. Please make her another hot chocolate James!
— Ipswich Hospital (@IpswichHosp) March 2, 2018
It's the dedication of #NHS staff like this who make this country what it is. Well done.
— Pascal ÓMathghamhna (@TheRankinMrP) March 2, 2018
As the adverse weather continues, stories like Laura’s of ordinary people going above and beyond to help others continue to emerge.
Yesterday, a nurse who walked 10 miles in the freezing cold to get to her patients at Lincoln County Hospital was treated to al all-expenses-paid holiday by This Morning.
Kay Mayer was handed the treat for her and her son after travelling on foot for three hours. She appeared live on air via video link from the hospital, and was clearly thrilled when she found out about the surprise.
In Northumberland, a Greggs delivery driver was hailed a hero after handing out doughnuts and cakes to motorists trapped on the roads by the weather.
Jon Gowing had been stuck for hours in Lindisfarne, Northumberland when he decided to unload his lorry and share the spoils among nearby drivers.
Round of applause required for the @GreggsOfficial delivery driver that sorted out free cakes for my mate and all the other poor buggers stuck in snow on the A1 today pic.twitter.com/vwLYvyfTFH
— Matt Bowman (@PIGEON_MATT) March 1, 2018
Freezing rain and sheet ice are adding fresh misery to the major disruption today, and severe warnings remain in place across the country.