A Blackpool nurse has been overwhelmed by the birthday wishes of hundreds of strangers thanks to her friend’s plea.
Sarah Yarnell, 27, who works in the Emergency Department at Blackpool Victoria Hospital, has had a very different birthday this year after having to move into temporary accommodation to keep her family safe.
Sarah’s friend, Chantelle Audin, 26, wanted to do something special for her birthday and so contacted Blackpool Teaching Hospital’s Facebook page for help.
The Trust sent a social media post that read: Here is a #BTHSpecialShoutOut for Sarah who works in our Emergency Department. It’s her birthday today but she’s had to move into temporary accommodation to keep her family safe, so let’s try and make her birthday a bit brighter by wishing her a happy birthday!
This sparked birthday wishes from 793 people on Facebook with 120 shares and 1.7k likes, 41 birthday wishes on Twitter and 14 on Instagram.
Sarah said: “I want to say a huge thank you to everyone who took time out of their day to wish me a happy birthday. I was absolutely overwhelmed by the amount of lovely comments and well wishes I have received.
“I have a sneaky friend, Chantelle, who made sure it was a birthday to remember. She left leaving cake on my doorstep and even got singer Tom Grennan to say happy birthday in a Tweet.
“Myself and everyone at Blackpool Victoria Hospital, especially my fabulous Emergency Department team, are totally amazed by the amount of support the general public are giving us during this difficult time. We will always remember the love we felt from complete strangers for something as simple as doing our jobs.”
Chantelle said: “I wanted to do something special for Sarah’s birthday as last week, like many, she made the difficult but necessary decision to leave her family home and seek accommodation elsewhere to keep her parents safe. This is just one shining example of the selfless person that Sarah is. I’ve been privileged enough to witness and many of times been on the receiving end of her kindness for many years now, selflessness and strength that undoubtedly will be seen from her as well as the rest of her colleagues on our Emergency Department every shift.
“I’ll be forever thankful for all of our healthcare professionals that are putting their lives on the line to give us our future. “