Elizabeth Kerr, 31, and Simon O'Brien, 36, embrace each other in a Covid-19 ward, days after they married in an ICU (Intensive Care Unit) in Milton Keynes University Hospital, Britain. Reuters
Elizabeth Kerr, 31, and Simon O'Brien, 36, embrace each other in a Covid-19 ward, days after they married in an ICU (Intensive Care Unit) in Milton Keynes University Hospital, Britain. Reuters
Elizabeth Kerr, 31, and Simon O'Brien, 36, embrace each other in a Covid-19 ward, days after they married in an ICU (Intensive Care Unit) in Milton Keynes University Hospital, Britain. Reuters
British couple Elizabeth Kerr and Simon O'Brien planned to marry in June. Then Covid-19 struck.
Both caught the disease and were rushed to Milton Keynes University Hospital in the same ambulance when their oxygen levels fell dangerously low.
Ms Kerr and Mr O'Brien became so ill that medical staff scrambled to organise a wedding before it was too late. When Mr O'Brien's condition got worse, it was decided he should be transferred to the intensive care unit.
Even that did not stop them: staff delayed his intubation just long enough for them to tie the knot.
"They told me that we wouldn't be able to get married after all, because they were going to have to intubate Simon and put him under," Ms Kerr said.
"But they held off for another hour. And he just, just rallied in that time, just long enough for us to get married."
With mortality rates now as high as 80 per cent in the ICU, a happy ending was far from certain.
But Mr O'Brien's condition improved and the newlyweds reunited on a Covid-19 ward where both are slowly recovering, although still receiving oxygen.
"We had to wait a few days for our first kiss," Ms Kerr told Reuters.
When Ms Kerr, 31, and Mr O'Brien, 36, arrived at the hospital in southern England, both needed a machine to breathe. They were placed on separate wards for Covid-19 patients.
Ms Kerr, a nurse at nearby Buckingham hospital, had told medics the couple planned to wed in June, but with their condition deteriorating, nurse Hannah Cannon asked her if they wanted to marry in the hospital.
Ms Kerr said she was told it could be her only chance.
Squeezing her husband's arm and welling up with tears as she recalled the events, she said: "Those are words I never ever want to hear again."
The ceremony took place on January 12, three days after the couple arrived in hospital.
Elizabeth Kerr, 31, and Simon O'Brien, 36, hold hands in a COVID-19 ward, days after they married in an ICU (Intensive Care Unit) when both had become critically ill with the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), and were uncertain of their chances of surviving, in Milton Keynes University Hospital, Milton Keynes, Britain, January 20, 2021. Picture taken January 20, 2021. REUTERS/Toby Melville
Ms Cannon was a witness and filmed the marriage for the couple's family and friends. The catering department provided the cake.
"With lots of teamwork ... we were able to give them a wedding, not necessarily the wedding that they would have initially intended, but certainly something positive, remarkable and memorable for them to really hold on to," Ms Cannon said.
Moments after saying "I do", Mr O'Brien was sedated and spent the night on mechanical ventilation.
Sitting next to each other and clutching hands after his partial recovery, the couple believe their survival was down to the staff's quick thinking.
Ms Kerr said the terrifying experience of fighting for every breath made clear what was important: the people you love.
"That is everything that matters, everything," she said. "Absolutely," Mr O'Brien agreed, speaking through his oxygen mask.
Ms Kerr said: "If we hadn't had each other and we hadn't been given that opportunity to get married, I don't think both of us would be here now."
(All games 4-3pm kick UAE time) Bayern Munich v Augsburg, Borussia Dortmund v Bayer Leverkusen, Hoffenheim v Hertha Berlin, Wolfsburg v Mainz , Eintracht Frankfurt v Freiburg, Union Berlin v RB Leipzig, Cologne v Schalke , Werder Bremen v Borussia Monchengladbach, Stuttgart v Arminia Bielefeld
Email sent to Uber team from chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi
From: Dara
To: Team@
Date: March 25, 2019 at 11:45pm PT
Subj: Accelerating in the Middle East
Five years ago, Uber launched in the Middle East. It was the start of an incredible journey, with millions of riders and drivers finding new ways to move and work in a dynamic region that’s become so important to Uber. Now Pakistan is one of our fastest-growing markets in the world, women are driving with Uber across Saudi Arabia, and we chose Cairo to launch our first Uber Bus product late last year.
Today we are taking the next step in this journey—well, it’s more like a leap, and a big one: in a few minutes, we’ll announce that we’ve agreed to acquire Careem. Importantly, we intend to operate Careem independently, under the leadership of co-founder and current CEO Mudassir Sheikha. I’ve gotten to know both co-founders, Mudassir and Magnus Olsson, and what they have built is truly extraordinary. They are first-class entrepreneurs who share our platform vision and, like us, have launched a wide range of products—from digital payments to food delivery—to serve consumers.
I expect many of you will ask how we arrived at this structure, meaning allowing Careem to maintain an independent brand and operate separately. After careful consideration, we decided that this framework has the advantage of letting us build new products and try new ideas across not one, but two, strong brands, with strong operators within each. Over time, by integrating parts of our networks, we can operate more efficiently, achieve even lower wait times, expand new products like high-capacity vehicles and payments, and quicken the already remarkable pace of innovation in the region.
This acquisition is subject to regulatory approval in various countries, which we don’t expect before Q1 2020. Until then, nothing changes. And since both companies will continue to largely operate separately after the acquisition, very little will change in either teams’ day-to-day operations post-close. Today’s news is a testament to the incredible business our team has worked so hard to build.
It’s a great day for the Middle East, for the region’s thriving tech sector, for Careem, and for Uber.
Uber on,
Dara
US tops drug cost charts
The study of 13 essential drugs showed costs in the United States were about 300 per cent higher than the global average, followed by Germany at 126 per cent and 122 per cent in the UAE.
Thailand, Kenya and Malaysia were rated as nations with the lowest costs, about 90 per cent cheaper.
In the case of insulin, diabetic patients in the US paid five and a half times the global average, while in the UAE the costs are about 50 per cent higher than the median price of branded and generic drugs.
Some of the costliest drugs worldwide include Lipitor for high cholesterol.
The study’s price index placed the US at an exorbitant 2,170 per cent higher for Lipitor than the average global price and the UAE at the eighth spot globally with costs 252 per cent higher.
High blood pressure medication Zestril was also more than 2,680 per cent higher in the US and the UAE price was 187 per cent higher than the global price.
1. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes - 263
2. Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari - 235
3. Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes - 212
4. Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull - 162
5. Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari - 138
6. Sergio Perez, Force India - 68
Sole survivors
Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Akeed
Based: Muscat
Launch year: 2018
Number of employees: 40
Sector: Online food delivery
Funding: Raised $3.2m since inception
We are bringing you the inside story from the World Economic Forum's Annual Meeting in Davos, a gathering of hundreds of world leaders, top executives and billionaires.
MATCH RESULT
Liverpool 4 Brighton and Hove Albion 0
Liverpool: Salah (26'), Lovren (40'), Solanke (53'), Robertson (85')
THE SPECS
Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 petrol engine
Power: 420kW
Torque: 780Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh1,350,000
On sale: Available for preorder now
Six large-scale objects on show
Concrete wall and windows from the now demolished Robin Hood Gardens housing estate in Poplar
The 17th Century Agra Colonnade, from the bathhouse of the fort of Agra in India
A stagecloth for The Ballet Russes that is 10m high – the largest Picasso in the world
Frank Lloyd Wright’s 1930s Kaufmann Office
A full-scale Frankfurt Kitchen designed by Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky, which transformed kitchen design in the 20th century
Torrijos Palace dome
THE SPECS
Engine: 1.6-litre turbo
Transmission: six-speed automatic
Power: 165hp
Torque: 240Nm
Price: From Dh89,000 (Enjoy), Dh99,900 (Innovation)
