‘Miracle girl’ lives to celebrate 50th
Date published: 29 September 2008
A miracle Oldham grandmother, who was not expected to live out of her childhood years, is celebrating her 50th wedding anniversary.
Former pub landlady Sheila Faulkner (68) became the first person in Britain to receive a new wonder drug from America — which saved her life.
Sheila was just 11 when she contracted rheumatic fever and was diagnosed with heart trouble.
Her devastated parents mounted a bedside vigil after doctors warned she was not expected to live.
But a dedicated medical team at St Joseph’s Hospital at Rainhill, Liverpool, contacted colleagues in America seeking their help.
An emergency supply of cortisone — then a new wonder drug for heart conditions — was dispatched to the hospital and the fight was on to repair a leaking heart valve and save her life.
Sheila spent four years in hospital, missing out on much of her childhood and schooling.
Her amazing progress and recovery, which brought hope to millions of people with heart problems, was recorded in medical journals and hospital records.
When she was 18, Sheila — then Boardman — met Fitton Hill boy Frank Faulkner and, with the approval of the specialists who treated her as a child, they married at St James’s Church, Barry Street.
“I was always known as the ‘miracle girl’, but when I got the all-clear to go ahead with my wedding plans I was delighted.
“I always wondered if my heart would give out if I became pregnant. It was a real concern. But I gave birth to two healthy children, a boy and a girl, without any problems.
“And I have had two knee and a hip replacement. I feel on top of the world.”
Sheila and her husband worked in the licensing trade for 30 years and retired from their last pub, The Dog and Partridge at Greenacres, eight years ago.
“We have had a wonderful life together,” said Sheila. “We have a great family. We spend a lot of time travelling — our son Ian lives in Spain — and we love visiting the English coast.”
Said husband Frank (70): “ I am really proud of her. She’s my best friend — and a great cook too.”
