You can catch up on all of the highlights from the 6th International Tracheostomy Symposium by clicking the links below. Check out the program to see what happened in each of our sessions, including the patient and family, scientific and educational breakout sessions.
Patient & Family Breakouts: UK & Europe | Asia Pacific | Americas
We were delighted to announce one of our keynote speaker was Professor Michael Rosen, Children's Poet Laureate (2007 - 2009). Michael is Professor of Children’s Literature at Goldsmiths, University of London in the Education Department. Michael unfortunately caught COVID-19 and spent a long time in hospital and in ICU, much of that time with a tracheostomy. Michael has written about his experiences in a new book of poetry, Many different kinds of love: a story of life, death and the NHS. Michael kindly agreed to talk about his experiences relating to his tracheostomy and the problems it presented him with providing a unique insight into the everyday experiences of our patients, told by one of the most eloquent people around! Michael was interviewed by a few local children just for us.
‘Will I wake up?’
‘There’s a 50:50 chance.’
In March 2020, Michael Rosen became unwell. Soon he was struggling to breathe, and he was admitted to hospital with coronavirus. What followed was months on the wards: a month in an induced coma, and weeks of rehab and recovery as the NHS saved his life, and then got him back on his feet. Throughout it all, a diary was kept at the end of Michael’s bed, where his nurses wrote him letters of hope and support. And as soon as he was awake, he was ready to start writing his own story.
Combining stunning new prose poems by one of Britain’s best loved poets and the moving coronavirus diaries of his nurses, and featuring original illustrations by Chris Riddell, this is a beautiful book about love, life and the NHS that celebrates the power of community and the indomitable spirits of the people who keep us well.
Click to return to the ITS6 homepage
Click here for a full list of speakers