From the bottom of my heart

VICCI Smith Scott was devastated when she realised her beloved dad would not live long enough to see the birth of his grandson Lorca.

But thanks to a bright idea from an award-winning nurse, Roy Smith was able to listen to the heartbeat of his unborn grandson on the day he died.

Vicci, of Green Park View, Moorside, was seven months’ pregnant with Lorca — now four-months-old — when Roy was taken to Tameside Hospital with a chest infection.

It soon became clear that former RAF pilot Roy (pictured right) was not responding to intensive treatment, so Vicci and her mum, Pat Jones, asked nurse Sandra Wood to help.

Sandra, who has worked in intensive care at Tameside for 20 years, contacted the midwifery team and arranged for a Doppler machine, similar to an ultrasound scanner, to be brought to Roy’s bedside and hooked up to Vicci so he could hear Lorca’s heartbeat.

Vicci, a mother-of-three, said: “I was so desperate for my dad to meet Lorca and had to find another way to make it happen.

“I showed dad my ultrasound photos and he had felt Lorca moving in my tummy. Although dad was sedated, hearing his heartbeat was the closest he could get to meeting him and a unique experience for a grandad.

“Lorca’s heartbeat was one of the last things my dad heard so it was a very symbolic moment.”

Sandra, who was presented with an Excellence in Care Award after being nominated by matron Chris Greenhough for going above and beyond the call of duty, said: “We always talk to patients who are sedated or unconscious as hearing is the last thing to go.

“The use of a Doppler machine in this situation is not something I’ve come across before. I just thought it would be nice for the family.”

Vicci, a successful actress who has appeared in “Emmerdale”, “Coronation Street” and “The Bill”, and her husband Graham have since visited staff in the intensive care unit to introduce them to Lorca and donate a painting to the ward in memory of Roy, who was 83.

She said: “Lorca is a happy, healthy baby who has definitely got the look of his grandad about him.

“We have already started telling him about his grandad and we will be able to share many happy memories with him when he’s older.

“I am so grateful to Sandra and all the staff who helped to look after my dad and made it possible for him to connect with Lorca.

“It was a beautiful moment that is almost impossible to put into words. I can’t explain how much it meant to me.”