A CLYDEBANK woman who was given just a few hours to live when she was born is one of the stars of a dramatic new documentary series.
Rebecca Margey, who is now 27, features in The Hospital: Life on the Line, which follows dedicated staff at Scotland’s ‘heart hospital’, the Golden Jubilee.
The Channel 5 series is an eye-opening look at the work of heart transplant teams in action.
The Clydebank NHS hospital carries out around 1400 cardiac surgery procedures per year. In 2022/23, it completed 40 heart transplants, the most in the UK.
Rebecca was born with a condition where one of the chambers in her heart does not work properly. Since her first operation at just a few days old, she has endured multiple surgeries.
In the programme, she has come into the Golden Jubilee Hospital to have the batteries in her pacemaker changed.
However, “worrying symptoms” mean the surgery is delayed as doctors try to find out the root of the problem. It is a stressful time for Rebecca’s mum and dad, June and Joe, and her fiancée Steph.
“All I can do is be there for her,” says an emotional Steph. “I’ll always be there.”
The first episode also features 54-year-old Andy McCafferty, from just outside Edinburgh, who is admitted to the cardiac unit after collapsing at home from a major heart attack.
The team have battled to repair his failing heart, but the only thing that will save him is a heart transplant and time is running out.
He and his partner of 25 years, Shabana, admit the wait is “terrifying”.
“Every minute feels like a lifetime,” says Shabana.
Steve Donaldson, 61, from Largs, had a heart transplant 13 years ago after becoming incredibly ill with heart failure.
However, the transplant has given him a new lease of life and he has been able to get back to the big passion in his life: competitive cycling.
It also allowed him to spend precious time with his wife, Linda, before she sadly died from breast cancer.
“Before she died we were talking and she said, you just go out and enjoy yourself,” says Steve. “So for once in my life, I’m doing what I’m told.
“This hospital is like my second home, it’s where I was reborn, in a way. They have become like a family.”
The Hospital: Life on the Line, starts on Channel 5 and My5 on Monday (June 3) at 9pm.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here