24 Hours in A&E viewers will want to give Joan a huge hug this week, as she recalls the tragic death of her daughter Lorna.
Episode 2 of the Channel 4 series (Monday, July 17, 2023) follows 87-year-old mum-of-two Joan, who is rushed to hospital after falling on a moving tram and hitting her head.
She arrives clutching a chain around her neck, as the locket contains a photo of her beloved late daughter Lorna. Doctors rush to help her, and stem the bleeding from a large open head wound.
We’re told: “Head injuries can be tricky. If someone loses a lot of blood, they will struggle to get blood flow to their head and other organs. If we don’t reverse that, unfortunately they’ll die.”
Joan rushed to Nottingham’s Queen’s Medical Centre with open head wound
Nottingham-born Joan reveals she was just about to sit down, when the tram began moving and she “went straight over”. With blood gushing from the open head wound, doctors rush to stop the blood flow and stitch her up.
Registrar Matthew reveals that “losing consciousness after a head injury is a red flag”. Luckily, Joan pulls through. But not before she shares the tragic story of her daughter.
In heartbreaking footage, Joan reveals that her second born child Lorna tragically died in a car accident when she was just 23 years old.
What happened to the daughter of Joan in 24 Hours in A&E?
Joan tells us that her “mother wasn’t loving”, which made her more determined to have children with husband Joe, and to be a good mum. She went on to have a son Alan and a daughter called Lorna.
Joan says: “I was 28 when Lorna was born. She was the sort of baby who hardly ever cried. She loved horse riding. Most of my weekends were spent ferrying her here, there and everywhere.
“Lorna went to university in Chester, and then she was a PE teacher. She was apparently a very good teacher, and the pupils loved her. We bought her a car so she could drive, and she was overjoyed. On the Sunday after visiting for the weekend, she got in her car, waved us goodbye, and drove off to Chester. And that was the last time we ever saw her properly.”
Joan continues: “My daughter Lorna was a teacher in Chester. And there were three other young teachers who taught in another school close by. Because they could all drive, they used to take it in turns.
“One day it was Janet’s turn to drive. In those days you didn’t need to wear a seat belt in the back. Lorna was sitting behind the driver. There was a car in the fast lane, going at really quick speed. He suddenly swerved into the back of them. He hit them with such force, that Lorna was thrown straight through the windscreen. She landed on the motorway.”
‘Please, you’ve got to make her better’
Joan, her husband and her son rushed to Chester to be by Lorna’s side. Joan explains: “When we got to her room, this priest was coming out. He said he’d just given Lorna the last rites. I looked at him and said ‘I thought you only gave last rites when someone is dying’? And he just bowed his head.”
Joan says: “She was just lying there. I kept saying ‘please, you’ve got to make her better’. But they said she wasn’t going to survive.”
Tragically Joan’s daughter Lorna died. Joan tells the staff at the Nottingham’s Queen’s Medical Centre what happened to the man responsible.
She says: “This young fella, when it went to court, he was fined £100. That was it.”
Joan adds: “I can see my daughter Lorna every single day in my mind. She has stayed 23 years old. She was precious all her life. I can remember the good times as there were so many of them. She’ll always be with me.”
Joan has since made a good recovery, and has even braved the trams again.
24 Hours in A&E episode 2
24 Hours in A&E continues with episode 2. Patients at Nottingham’s Queen’s Medical Centre include elderly woman Joan, who fell on a moving tram, and teenager Prince who broke his leg in three places while playing football.
Elsewhere, 19-year-old Rose faces life-changing injuries after being thrown into the air by a car. Worryingly, Rose’s mum is in Portugal at the time, and does everything she can to be by her daughter’s side.
24 Hours in A&E continues on Mondays at 9pm on Channel 4.
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