Katherine Fitton on the childhood experience that led her to work in healthcare
Carol Peaker’s article felt rather close to home (A moment that changed me: my son was relishing life after recovering from cancer – so why did I feel broken?, 9 November). Like her son, when I was 14 I too had a “something” that required multiple operations and hospital visits. Although my tumour was benign, thus sparing me from chemotherapy, it was certainly something that shaped me and moulded my character as I turned from teenager to adult overnight.
I will never forget something my dad told me in his stoic way after that first surgery, as I was lying in hospital in between morphine-induced nightmares of being chased by giant blue tortoises. “You must remember, lovey, there’s always someone worse off than you.” My mum, a former nurse and health visitor, certainly held the same view, as she often reminded me of it over the years of follow-up visits that she ferried me to.
