Doctors’ stories

My son has trouble with his breathing, so we have specialist equipment that has to be left on at night. He can’t regulate his temperature, which means leaving the heating on too. With current energy prices, my gas and electricity bills have been more than my mortgage. I was going to have to stop my training because I couldn’t afford the exams. It seemed like such an absurd situation.

It was devastating to have a further setback when I was so close to coming back to work. I needed regular assistive care, with the cost that entails, and the use of a wheelchair. Things were miserable. One day I searched the internet to see if there was support available for doctors in my position, not expecting much. That’s where I found out about the RMBF. I called up and talked to a Caseworker, who was incredibly kind and understanding.

When I first approached the RMBF, I had been in hospital for a few months and I knew I was going to need a prolonged period of recuperation. I didn’t have any savings at the time as when I became sick I was just two months into Foundation Year 1. I didn’t have anything I could fall back on, and was told I would need to take six months off work, which was terrifying. Thanks to the RMBF, I’ve been able to return to medicine and complete my foundation years – and now I’m training to be an anaesthetist. I still have a chronic illness, but I’m far better now. If I was ever in a similar situation again, I wouldn’t feel scared to approach the charity for help.