Diary of a frustrated footballer: NHS heroes were incredible during my baby drama – now we must help them

CORONAVIRUS is reminding us that our health is more important than anything — certainly more than football.
The crisis is also giving us the chance to fully appreciate our NHS heroes and all they do for us.

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Simon Francis’ baby Halle was born from an emergency caesarean section

It has had me often reminiscing of a time when both those thoughts were at the forefront of my mind.
That moment came with the dramatic birth of our daughter Halle one Friday in October a decade ago.
My wife Ashley had experienced a relatively normal pregnancy up until that point and was heading into hospital for a routine final scan and check-up.
With ten days until her due date, I decided to head down with my then club Charlton for a Saturday game at Plymouth.
Yet as the coach passed Reading, an hysterical Ash called me to say the baby was breech and the doctors had to perform an emergency caesarean section that day.

At that stage, having the baby’s position bottom or feet first is dangerous. It must have happened so quickly because the last scan had shown nothing, nor had Ash felt anything.
I went into panic mode.
But because Ash had had breakfast that day, they could not do surgery for another four hours which became my time-frame for getting to her.
I ran down to the front of the bus and told the manager Phil Parkinson, who had signed me for the club and with whom I had always had a good relationship. He calmly asked what I wanted to do.
There was only one thing in my mind that I HAD to do — so they let me out at the nearest train station, which was Andover, and I frantically began trying to plot my route to Dartford Hospital.
Every train journey and every delay seemed to go on forever.
But I used the time to call family members and tried to compose myself, as I knew Ash would need me to be strong.
Yet with this being our first child, this was completely uncharted territory for us and I was fearing the worst as each station went by.

Bournemouth star Simon Francis shed a tear at the births of both his childrenCredit: Rex Features

In the end I made it with half-an-hour to spare.
I put on the overalls, took my place by Ash’s head and was trying to keep calm while the thought running through my mind was, ‘This is absolutely mental’.
The admiration for my wife and what women have to go through at that moment was immense.
I have had surgery on knee injuries and been in pain through football, but nothing compares to what women experience in childbirth.
A lot of people say footballers’ wives have got it easy, especially when you are playing at the top, which to a certain extent I agree with.

The ‘Stay Home’ message is really sinking in now. We HAVE to keep those numbers down on the wards so the hospitals are not overwhelmed.

Simon Francis

But being a mother is harder than any job.
And when it comes to Ash, she was definitely with me through the hard times long before the riches of the Premier League.
We met when I was at Southend, where she was working as a  hospital administrator.
Just before I joined Charlton, the Shrimpers were issued with a winding-up order and did not pay the players for three months.
I actually asked Ash, ‘If this carries on, can you lend me some money?’
I am not a massively emotional person and rarely cry.
But I did shed a tear at both of the births of our children.
I think a lot of grown men would say the same and I don’t think there’s any shame in admitting that.

The emotions were heightened that day because of the uncertainty from start to finish.
A few hours later, the gaffer rang me to check everything was fine and then asked if I wanted to come down and play at Plymouth!
They were even prepared to get a chartered plane for me, which in League One is a big ask.
For a minute, I thought about it. But I couldn’t do it, I couldn’t leave Ash.
She was still in a state of shock, as was I, so I wouldn’t have been in the right frame of mind anyway.
Throughout everything, the staff were incredible.
Not just with the surgery, but with their bedside manner.
I know the nurses and doctors do these procedures day in, day out, but it was still amazing to witness.
More so now than ever, you can imagine the pressure they are under and how busy they are.

They are putting their lives on the line to save others.
The ‘Stay Home’ message is really sinking in now. We HAVE to keep those numbers down on the wards so the hospitals are not overwhelmed.
We have to play our part to help our healthcare heroes guide us through these tough times as they do daily in normal circumstances.

Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk