Gemma Atkinson has shared the emotional moment she and her mum reunited with a nurse who was among the medical staff who saved her nephew's life as a baby. The actress and presenter, who is from Bury, described the encounter on Hits Radio's Drivetime show with co-star Wes Butters.
Atkinson has previously spoken publicly about the family's scare. In 2022, she told followers how she believes her late father, David, 'swapped places' with her nephew, who almost died as a baby.
She said at the time: "My nephew, Tyler, he's absolutely fine now. Gorgeous, really handsome... just a beautiful lad. When he was a tiny baby, he had meningitis and was really poorly. He was in the intensive care, all puffed up like fish, he was yellow and we were told he probably wasn't going to make it."
Dad's plea to swap places
Atkinson went on to explain how the family went to the hospital to say their goodbyes. "And while we were up saying our goodbyes, my dad came with us and my dad genuinely said, 'I'm not religious, I don't know what I believe in but if there is anything, swap places. I've had a great life. I'm an older man, I'll swap with him,'" she recalled.
She said they told him not to say 'things like that', but after that Tyler began an incredible recovery. Atkinson called it 'bizarre', but tragically her father suffered a heart attack a matter of months later and died. "So, Tyler looks the spitting image of my dad, it's weird," she added. "We always say my dad swapped places with Tyler."
Chance meeting in a cafe
This week, years on from those comments, the Hits Radio host spoke on air about the moment she and her mum recently bumped into one of the nurses who looked after Tyler.
She recalled: "So I was having some food with my mum and Mia in a cafe, and there was a lady who was sat a bit behind us. [My] mum kept staring over at her, and I was thinking, 'What's she doing?' And my nephew, Tyler, when he was a baby, had meningitis, and he was really, really poorly. He was in the intensive care unit, [and] they told us all to come up and essentially, there was nothing they could do."
She continued: "He made a mirculous recvoery and her's like, 25 now, perfectly fine, all good. And I said to my mum, 'Why do you keep looking at that lady?' And she just said, 'She saved Tyler's life!'"
An emotional recognition
Atkinson shared how her mum recalled the woman being the one to take Tyler following his arrival in A&E, and confirmed meningitis. She explained how she told her mum they had to go over and speak to her, and although her mum was unsure, they did go over, and the woman also recognised Atkinson's mum.
"They both started crying, and she said, 'How is he? Is he okay?' ... We've never seen her since. 25 years. It was probably another child, another emergency; let's deal with it. But for us, we were told days later he wouldn't make it and he did. We've had 25 years of my nephew being the best, craziest, most wonderful nephew because of her."
A clip of Atkinson's comments was shared on Hits Radio's Instagram page, captioned: "What are the chances. This one goes out to all the health workers saving lives every day [heart emoji] #gemmaatkinson." The clip moved listeners to respond.
@natalieb_66 said: "Goosebumps and nearly made me cry." @clairelouisegladys replied: "Same! Such an amazing story." @juliaroberts44 commented: "There's a reason nurses are called angels." @mandy_decourcy wrote: "What a lovely story." @katie_rhea11 posted: "Wow! What an incredible story! Made me cry." @sharon_j_biddle shared: "What a wonderful story and for your mum and this incredible lady to recognise each other. So lovely you encouraged your mum to speak to her." @arthurs_r added: "I’m in tears watching this so glad you spoke to the nurse but what are the chances."
