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Heart drawn in sky to thank Royal Papworth staff for care




A heart has been ‘drawn’ in the sky above Royal Papworth Hospital as a gesture of thanks to the NHS from a patient for the heart attack care he received.

A heart drawn in the sky over Royal Papworth Hospital
A heart drawn in the sky over Royal Papworth Hospital

Geoff Soden, 70, from Huntingdon, woke up with pain between his shoulder blades one morning in April. He realised he had symptoms similar to a heart attack. After calling 999, eight minutes later two East of England Ambulance Service paramedics arrived and diagnosed a heart attack.

Geoff said: “Melissa and Ruby were both amazing and put me at ease straight away. They called Royal Papworth Hospital and promptly drove me in the ambulance with blue lights flashing, and within 35 minutes of me calling 999 I was being admitted into Papworth.”

A heart drawn in the sky over Royal Papworth Hospital
A heart drawn in the sky over Royal Papworth Hospital
A team from Royal Papworth watching the heart drawn in the sky over the hospital
A team from Royal Papworth watching the heart drawn in the sky over the hospital

He went directly to the cardiology operating suite and a stent was inserted (coronary angioplasty and stenting) to unblock a coronary artery and, after a three-day stay on the ward, was discharged back home.

[Read more: Teenager who battled Covid-19 thanks Royal Papworth Hospital team for saving her life with artificial lung, Eilish Midlane appointed Royal Papworth’s chief executive]

Within a week Geoff was back doing the things he loves, such as aerial photography. To thank the NHS teams who have cared for him, Geoff arranged for a pilot friend – the leader of the Global Stars Aerobatic team – to fly his plane and draw a heart in the sky above Royal Papworth Hospital. He said: “Everyone was brilliant.”



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