Nurses of Tickhill Road Hospital in Doncaster, England, had a little surprise ready as one of their oldest patients survived the novel coronavirus and prepared to go back home.
Said patient was Albert Chambers, born in 1920. During World War II, Chambers had served under the British Army and fought in the North African battlefields.
As a soldier, Chambers was taken as a Prisoner of War after injured during a bomb raid in the North African front. He endured three long years at Stalag XI B camp. It was a Nazi concentration camp with the sole purpose of holding POWs.
However, the harrowing experiences did not break the spirit of Chambers. After returning home, he continued to serve his country by working as a soldier in the British palaces.
Knowing his incredible contributions and back story, the nurses prepared a surprise gift as Chambers headed back home on Friday.
All the staff gathered in the hallways as Chambers left his room in a wheelchair. As the war hero left the room, everyone in the facility gave him a guard of honour. All applauded and were happy to see that they were able to give back to a hero who gave them everything.
Naturally, this was far from a predestined conclusion. Chambers was initially admitted three weeks prior for an unrelated wrist pain. It was in the hospital that he started to show symptoms of Covid-19 that were later lab confirmed.
According to his family, they were preparing themselves for the worst. With death tolls in UK nearing 8,000, even the family was not certain that Chambers could survive the virus.
However, there was one thing that no family member knew for certain: the absolute tenacity and fortitude of Chambers. In an interview with CNN, Chambers’ grandson said that his grandfather’s fighting spirit was never in doubt.
Chambers himself thanked the staff both for their treatment and the surprise ceremony. “Thank you very much, I appreciate every bit you’ve done for me. It couldn’t have been better” were his exact words as seen in a video that NHS posted on their twitter account.
A truly inspiring hero who lives the mantra old soldiers never die, Chambers’ story is a rare tale of optimism and hope for many of us. Share with us your thoughts on this story in the comments, and be sure to follow us on Facebook for more news like this one.
Replaced!