Edwina Currie speaks at MRSA Action UK annual meeting at Winsford Lifestyle Centre
8:30am Saturday 20th March 2010
By Frances Kindon »
A WINSFORD mother who has campaigned tirelessly since her son died of MRSA, got some very special backing on Saturday.
Mavis Law, of Beckenham Grove, lost son Colin to the superbug in 2003, just days before his 33rd birthday.
Heartbroken, she co-founded the charity MRSA Action UK and former Cabinet Minister Edwina Curry, took time out to speak at its annual meeting on Saturday.
Colin was admitted to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham with haemocromatosis – an iron overload that causes severe liver damage.
He was due to stay for five days while he was assessed for a liver transplant, but five days turned into seven weeks.
Mavis said: “We travelled every other day to visit him and noticed that he was becoming more ill each time – his legs were weeping fluid.
“He eventually became bedridden and needed to remain on oxygen, wired up to monitors, drips and a catheter with three lines going into his groin, a line going into his neck and at one point a feeder going into his nose, his lips were cracked and dry and he had bed sores.
“I will never forget our shock and the pain of seeing Colin's face looking at each of us as we tried to hold back our tears whilst the doctor told us that Colin was dying – that all of his organs were failing – and he also had Pneumonia. No-one mentioned MRSA.”
Speaking at Winsford Lifestyle Centre on Saturday, former MP Edwina Currie, who is also the charity’s patron, called for more to be done to tackle the killer bug.
The one-time junior health minister in the Conservative government of the late 1980s and early 1990, said: “It has been another busy year for MRSA Action.
“Nobody enters hospital expecting to get sicker, yet 9,000 people a year die as a result of MRSA and other healthcare infections. This is a national disgrace.”
Mavis is now the treasurer of charity and son Dale sits as the vice-chair. She praised Mrs Currie for her passion and support.
She said: “Mrs Currie has always been an extremely passionate and active supporter of our work and I’m delighted that she was able to come to Winsford and support our AGM.
“Everyone at our AGM has been affected in some way by a healthcare infection and it takes a lot of courage and strength to come and share their experiences with others. I can’t thank those here today enough for taking the time to show their support.
“I would also like to thank other organisations such as Weaver Vale Housing Trust and Cheshire West and Chester Council that have come to give their support to our cause today.”
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