Tributes to 'little nurse with a big heart'

Published Date:
24 October 2008
By Angela Reed

TRIBUTES have been paid to "a little nurse with a big heart" after she lost her brave battle with a crippling condition.

Dorothy Ahmed was diagnosed with motor neurone disease shortly after retiring from South Tyneside District Hospital in 2005.

The 63-year-old worked on the children's ward for more than 25 years and was dedicated to her job and family.

Eldest son

John Pressling and her sister, Tania Longstaff, today led tributes to the grandmother-of-four, from Reynolds Avenue, Whiteleas, South Shields.

Miss Longstaff, 61, said: "She was amazing. She had the biggest heart I have ever seen. Her life was her children and grandchildren and other children."

Mr Pressling said his mum had been on the ward for so long, she was starting to look after a second generation of children.

He added: "She was a larger than life character, so bubbly, with an infectious sense of humour."

Mrs Ahmed used to bamboozle her family with medical terms, and colleagues used to joke there was her way – and the wrong way.

She acted as a mentor to new and young nurses and would organise activities to keep youngsters on the ward amused, such as crafts and parties.

Away from work and family, she liked painting, cooking, walking, gardening and tending to her allotment, where she grew her own fruit and vegetables.

But her active life was shattered when she was diagnosed with motor neurone disease, a muscle-wasting condition that leads to loss of mobility and difficulties with speech, swallowing and breathing.

Miss Longstaff said: "She was very fit and very brainy; that is what made it so bad, because she had all her faculties. It is just a terrible disease, it takes everything away physically.

"She knew exactly what was coming. She used to get frustrated because she couldn't do the things she wanted do."

Her speech became gradually worse until she couldn't speak at all and had to communicate by writing things down, but she still retained her sharp wit.

Youngest son Richard, 40, said: "If she thought she had to emphasise a point, she would write in capital letters. The pen would rip through the page."

He described his mum, who worked as a home help and a legal secretary before she became a nurse, as a "5ft giant".

Mrs Ahmed was cared for at home by her middle son, Murray, 41.

Eventually, she could no longer swallow and her breathing was affected and she died in hospital, surrounded by her family.

Hundreds are expected to attend her funeral at South Shields Crematorium at 1.30pm on Monday.

A collection will be held for the children's ward and motor neuron disease research.

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