Life, death and biscuits: coronavirus told from the front line

Anthea Allen knew that when she grew up she wanted to be a nurse.

When coronavirus hit the UK she was on the front line as a critical care nurse at one of the largest hospitals in Europe, St George's Hospital, Tooting.

Anthea's experience will be published by HarperCollins UK in "Life, death and biscuits".

Speaking to Tooting Nub News Anthea said: "It's a book about people, love and hope.

"I, at aged 60, thought I knew who I was and I knew about love and I knew about a lot of things.

"But I've learnt more about myself, more about life, about how phenomenal people are and just how amazing it is to be able to love people.

"It doesn't have to be your family.

"I genuinely love and I mean really love, some of the people I work with."

What started off as emails to friends and acquaintances soon became an international chain.

She had been a nurse for over 20 years when the pandemic hit and was among those in charge of the critical care unit.

The emails started out as an appeal for some biscuits to cheer up her colleagues.

Affectionately referred to as 'Mama Anthea', she felt compelled to reach out and ask for a little pick me up.

Anthea cc'd everyone she knew in London and asked if they would be able to drop some treats to her house.

By the time she got home the following day her son, Peter, opened the door exasperated about the amount of deliveries he'd had to take in.

Nine bin bags worth of food had arrived and that was just the beginning.

As the weeks went on more and more people wanted to make donations of food or money to the staff.

Anthea began to write the emails as a way of saying thanks but found that as the pandemic challenged her mentally and physically, they became cathartic.

Sometimes the emails were bleak so she'd include reminiscing's of her early days in healthcare and amusing anecdotes.

Anthea said: "The more I wrote, the more response I got, the more positivity and the more money was raised."

Eventually they landed in the lap of a writer who was able to combine the emails in their original format to produce a book.

A book about hope and resilience, but also about the reality of working on the front line during the pandemic.

She never set out to write a book but now that there is one Anthea said: "I hope that it's cathartic for my staff and my nurses, I hope it helps them in some way, I think it might be difficult for them to read.

"I really want people to read it and realise how fantastic nurses are.

"I want to remind people that people, friendships and family are important."

Speaking to Anthea it is clear what a lasting impact her work has had on her.

She reflected on when things were particularly challenging: "I was finding it really hard and one day I walked to the other end of the hospital to have a bit of a cry.

"I bumped into three of my nurses who had gone to do a similar thing and we all just sort of cried together and for me that was the changing moment."

Anthea opened up about her desire to remain strong for her colleagues: "I was worried that if they thought I was struggling, they wouldn't talk to me."

It's abundantly clear that there is a bond between Anthea and her colleagues that is impossible to understand unless you have those shared experiences.

"We have lived an experience that no one else has lived, you can't explain it and it went from hell to amazing."

Life, death and biscuits is out February 17.

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