Alex is proof of Downe’s value

Alex is proof of Downe’s value

18 February 2015

BLONDE and bubbly — 10 year-old Alex McEvoy would make a great mascot for the Love the Downe campaign.

Hand in hand with his parents at Saturday’s rally, he may not yet fully comprehend the depth of their commitment to the local hospital service.

But they are clear. Without the Downe, Alex would almost certainly not be alive.

Four years ago, Alex, who is from Downpatrick, was rushed to the Downe Hospital when he started to vomit blood just days after undergoing a tonsillectomy.

His parents rushed him to the nearby unit, abandoning their car in an ambulance bay in the race to find doctors who could stem the bleeding.

Hospital staff later told his mum, Donna, that if an ambulance had tried to take Alex directly to Dundonald he would have died on the way because of the severity of his condition.

She still struggles to think about the time she came so close to losing her child and hates to think of the outcome if the unit had been closed on the November evening when Alex was brought in.

That is why, she says, they attended Saturday’s rally.

“The doctor in charge of the Downe that night saved Alex’s life and we still keep in touch with him,” she said.

“If anybody is here because of the Downe it is Alex.

“Every nurse and doctor pulled together that night for us. They were all in that room for our son and that is something we will never forget.

“He was saved by the Downe.

“What if this happens to somebody else and the unit is closed? What is one of our other kids gets sick. It does not bear thinking about.”