A former patient of Kiwi intensive care nurse Jenny McGee, who was singled out yesterday by Boris Johnson for helping save his life, says she deserves a medal.
The British Prime Minister spent time in St Thomas' Hospital in London intensive care unit just days after confirming he had Covid-19. He's since been discharged.
In a video yesterday morning, Mr Johnson thanked the doctors and nurses who cared for him, adding "I hope they won’t mind if I mention in particular two nurses who stood by my bedside for 48 hours when things could have gone either way. They are Jenny from New Zealand – Invercargill on the South Island to be exact – and Luis from Portugal – near Porto."
Mr Johnson, who is now home, said the NHS had "saved my life, no question", after his ordeal. He spent seven nights in hospital.
An ex-patient of Jenny McGee's, David Cotton, who suffered a seizure brought on by a tumour in his chest in 2017, too had nothing but praise for the Southland-born nurse's care during his time in hospital.
Ms Ardern said she had sent a personal message to Jenny McGee on Facebook thanking her. (Source: Other)
Mr Cotton told Sky News UK today that Ms McGee was "thoroughly dedicated".
"You feel you're in wonderfully safe hands with somebody like Jenny. I can't praise her enough. And I think the Prime Minister should give her some form of medal because of the work she does.
"She saved my life without doubt.
"She's a fabulous, vivacious, wonderful personality and tremendous sense of humour, but at the same time, 100 per cent professional."
Mr Cotton described the instive care unit as a scary place, talking about noisy machines like ventilators, people running around and alarms going off.
"Somebody like Jenny, she's kind of master of all she surveys, but at the same time, keeping calm and throwing in the odd joke and comment, keeping spirits up," he told Sky News.
"And in that typically wonderful New Zealand way, was able to call a spade a spade and make everyone feel great. I would imagine she would have gone perfectly with Boris Johnson because she wouldn't have taken any any truck from him."
Jenny McGee's parents had an inkling but didn’t know for sure that their daughter was looking after the world leader until this morning. (Source: Other)
Neither Ms McGee, nor the other nurse personally named - Luis Pitarma - have given media interviews.
However, Ms McGees brothers told 1 NEWS they were " very proud " of her.
Her parent's also spoke to 1 NEWS yesterday and said their phones hadn't stopped ringing with people wanting to know: " Is that your Jenny? "
“She said she had just had the most surreal time of her life, something she will never forget and that she had been taking care of Boris,” Caroline McGee.
The 36-year-old has been working in the UK for about eight years. She'd only recently returned to the frontline after visiting her parents in Nelson.
Caroline and Mike McGee say it doesn’t matter who their daughter Jenny cared for, it’s simply what she does and they find it incredible. (Source: Other)
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