A former patient who says she owes her life to the NHS has thrown an elaborate thank you party to show her gratitude to the Wolverhampton teams. Dr Yaa Victorine Ngamsha – Vicky – is originally from Cameroon but came to the UK to get married in 2001, moving to Birmingham in 2007 and Bentley in Walsall a year later.
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00:00It was that moment, a phone call you never imagined. I dropped tears of joy. I was like,
00:08oh, and they said, no, you need to come now. My name is Victorine Ngamsha. I'm popularly known
00:16as Dr. Yaa, which means queen in African word, lamso. Yaa Victorine Ngamsha, or doctor.
00:25And I live in Warsaw for the past 20 years, 21 years. I am 51 years old and I'm a mother
00:38and happily married woman. Basically before any symptoms, before I became really ill with kidney
00:45failure, I was a very happy woman, busy woman, a mother, and going about traveling the world
00:54and singing as a professional musician, motivational speaker, and of course, a passionate
01:01housewife. So love cooking, but as a professional musician, I went to different countries like
01:09America, Germany, Canada, and so on. Then I had some time as well to do a lot for the community
01:18in Africa. I was privileged to set up two libraries with books donated by people in
01:25the West Midlands in Cameroon, one for Kikaikelaki, which is my husband's village, and one for Shisong,
01:32which is my alma mater, St. Francis Comprehensive High School. And all of this took me to
01:41being busy, giving to the community, and building my business at the time. I also had the opportunity
01:48to study at the University of Amsterdam and had a business information system.
01:55In 2013, I traveled to Cameroon with my family, husband, and children. We had a fantastic time.
02:02Then we returned to the UK. We flew through Turkey. On the way, we got to Turkey where we
02:07had to pass a night in a hotel before coming over to the UK. And I felt horrible. I felt so weak.
02:15I felt so there was no taste of food. I was so tired. And I said, I don't feel well. But when we
02:21got to the UK anyway, I said to my husband, I'm going to go over to the hospital and I'm going
02:28to check what's going on. That time was just 2013. I think there was this Ebola. So I thought maybe
02:35I've got Ebola. So I went to hospital and bang, they said my kidney function was very low.
02:43I know they had mentioned to me years back that there was this polycystic kidney disease in South
02:47Hampton General Hospital. But I didn't think about it. They said it will come when you're old. I
02:51didn't realize I was old. But yeah, my kidney was failing at the time. And they started saying,
02:57yeah, we need to hydrate you and also to procedures. And that was the beginning of
03:02this journey of kidney failure. And then from then they deteriorated. As time went on, I kept
03:10going to see the doctors in Walsall Manor at the time. And they said, no, the specialists are in
03:17New Cross Hospital. And I came to the kidney, chronic kidney disease unit in New Cross Hospital.
03:23And I met amazing people. I called them family. In April of 2023,
03:36I went to hospital and I was seen by this lovely doctor who said, I think
03:45we need to do something because the kidney function is about five now. And then they had
03:52to start dialysis. And when dialysis started, I was still ongoing. I was still positive
04:00until the six months of dialysis that took place in the capable hands of the nurses at the home
04:09dialysis unit who trained me how to dialyze from home. And I like to shout out, I can never leave
04:15these names out, Becky and Joe. So they looked after me like I was a princess. So, and everybody
04:25looked after me, the chronic kidney disease unit as well. They were the people who referred me to
04:31the dialysis unit. So it's like going front and back from them because after the dialysis with
04:37the home dialysis unit, then it was time for transplant. During my six months of dialysis,
04:45it was as if my kidneys failed. I was on dialysis and everything failed.
04:52I was positive. I would go on live video and dialyze, putting brick needles in my arm,
04:57but people didn't realize I was going through a lot as well psychologically. It's that time when
05:03I turn around and say, where are my friends? It was so horrible a time. The trying moments
05:09of my family, my husband, my children. So that's why I always describe it when my kidneys failed,
05:14everything failed with my kidneys. And then, you know what? One day, just six months of dialysis,
05:22everything that was good was the care by the NHS, the support, the encouragement, the equipment,
05:28so free and everything. Given that in my country, I have to pay for this. I was paying nothing for
05:34those machines in my house and the saline. I think it was about the 10th-ish of September,
05:462023. I had a message on an email, and this message said, because of the numerous work
05:54you've done, you've been recommended for a doctorate in humanitarian work, PhD in humanitarian
06:01work by a university in Florida, America. And my take at that was, okay, thank you,
06:08but what was I doing with this when I had no kidneys? How would I go to America? So I would
06:14say, oh, thank you, and that was it. Then a few days after that, I went to the shop,
06:21parked my car, bought the ironing board, came out, I was still holding it, and I had a phone call.
06:28It's that, it's that Victorine Gamshaye, oh, this is Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham.
06:35We're just calling to let you know we've got a kidney for you. I dropped the ironing board,
06:40I was like, okay, and I listened, say, are you there? It was that moment, a phone call
06:48you never imagine. I dropped tears of joy. I was like, oh, and they said, no, you need to come now.
06:55I said, yeah, of course, I'll come now. And guys, I'm a very funny girl, but let me show you how I
07:02drove from the store to my house. I was there with my hand on the steering, and when it's safe to do
07:09so, I'll just hold the steering. Jesus, thank you. Thank you. I was so, so happy. I was like,
07:15I've got a kidney, as you can imagine, and that was the most special time in my life.
07:22Phoned my husband, told my son, who just cried and hugged me, so we hurried to Queen Elizabeth
07:27Hospital, and I had this VIP treatment by the nurses and doctors and stuff, God bless them.
07:34It was beautiful. It was swift. It was smart, and I had a transplant on the 15th of September,
07:422023. It was beautiful. Everybody was, you know, they care. I'd never known that there's a posh
07:56place like this in Birmingham. The ward was like a five-star hotel. It was, and then the
08:04consultants, they came in their numbers. They said, this stage, we're going to go. The kidney
08:08is coming from somewhere, wherever it was coming from, and this time, we're going to,
08:12in a few minutes, it was very, very protocol, and I just couldn't imagine, and they said,
08:20oh, we were not sure about the antibodies, but everything was reassuring, and when I talk of
08:27my transplant, please permit me to say this. God bless my donor. Whoever you are,
08:35I say this in God's name. If I know my donor's family, if I, I will move in. I will make myself
08:40their child, and I know I can never replace whoever, but this is where organ donor come in.
08:48My life was changed. The food was yummy. The bed was comfortable. Everything, everything to do
08:58with me, I was respected. That's why I sang God bless NHS. Thank you, Britain.