Thirty-four-year-old Ben McCafferty was admitted to Bradford Royal Infirmary in West Yorkshire on April 6, 2020. Ben’s stepfather, Neil Margerison, said he didn’t expect his son to survive the ordeal.
Fearing the worst, Ben was transferred to the palliative care ward. However, with high-quality medical care and the support of a crack team of staff, Ben started to recover. After almost two weeks in the hospital, Ben’s parents received the news they had been hoping for: Ben was well enough to return home.
On April 18, Neil walked Ben down the hospital corridor to be reunited with his mother, Diane Margerison. She had adopted Ben when he was just 3 months old, and the pair share an extremely close bond.
Ben’s mom jokes with her son after they loosen their embrace, asking, “Who are you?” Ben replies, “a handsome man,” and the corridor erupts in laughter.
Diane had been able to accompany her son on his first night at Bradford Royal Infirmary but had had to leave shortly thereafter; lockdown restrictions prohibited visitors from coming and going. Instead, Neil slept on a camp bed by Ben’s side for the duration of his treatment.
Dawber described Neil as “a saint” for his dedication to his stepson’s welfare. “We saw [Ben] start to get better,” Dawber told the UK-based outlet. “He was being looked after on our end of life ward. He was laughing and joking with the nurses.”
Ben and his parents received a hearty round of applause as they left the hospital arm in arm. The hospital’s local Morrisons supermarket even donated presents and a helium balloon to make Ben’s leaving ceremony as special as possible. Back at home in Thornton, Bradford, Diane reflected upon her son’s recovery and voiced immense gratitude to the NHS staff at Bradford Royal Infirmary, maintaining that the sterling care her son received at the hospital saved his life.
“I didn’t think he would make it,” Diane told The Yorkshire Evening Post. “It was the longest we had ever been apart.”
