Great Ponton villagers support hospital which saved mother’s life

A Great Ponton woman has spent five months in intensive care and may remain there for months more.

Tracey Doughty has been in the care of Lincoln Hospital after suffering a perforated bowel, which the family was told would probably kill her.

Initially, the 45-year-old full-time mum was taken to Peterborough Hospital with stomach pains and given laxatives and sent home. She returned with worse stomach pains and was given more laxatives.

With the pain even worse, her family decided to take Tracey to Lincoln Hospital, where she remains today in its intensive care ward.

Mum Sibyl Meadows said: “Tracey has been in 20 weeks and three days. It was a perforated bowel.”

Lincoln diagnosed the problem, though they thought Tracey would not make it through the night.

“She’s had 17 operations, included one major operation. She’s been on a ventilator as her lungs keep collapsing.”

Every day Tracey’s parents, Sibyl, 74 and father John, 77, visit their daughter, as do other family members.

Tracey is married to Jacob and they have three children Jack, Nathaniel, and Alicia.

Sibyl continued: “They have been absolutely brilliant in intensive care. You cannot fault them. We have had round the clock care. They even set out a table in their restaurant for us on Christmas Day.”

To show their thanks, the family staged a charity night on St Patrick’s Day, Saturday, March 17, at Great Ponton Village Centre to raise funds for the intensive care ward.

A cheque for £711.25 was recently handed over to the ward by Tracey’s sister-in-law Emma Meadows.

Now, the family still face daily visits to Lincoln as Tracey cannot come out of intensive care until her condition improves. Then she will be transferred to Ashby ward for rehabilitation.

Sibyl said: “She could be there another six months. She has to learn to walk again and use her limbs.”