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<\/p>\nTELLY star Davina McCall knows first hand about the devotion and sacrifice of our NHS heroes.<\/p>\n
The Masked Singer panelist \u2014 whom The Sun can today reveal will this year host our Who Cares Wins awards \u2014 tells of the heart\u00adbreaking moment she was told her big sister had just weeks to live.<\/p>\n
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Fighting back tears in a hospital corridor, she was \u201cscooped up\u201d by a nurse who comforted Davina in her hour of need.<\/p>\n
Davina had rushed Caroline to A&E with a suspected stroke in 2012. Then tests revealed she had terminal lung cancer.<\/p>\n
Davina said: \u201cWe got the very, very bad diagnosis in A&E. <\/p>\n
\u201cI had to keep it together for Caroline because she was going through a much worse time than I was but every now and again I\u2019d go into the corridor and have a meltdown.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis one nurse came out and rubbed my back as I cried. <\/p>\n
\u201cShe told me to take my moment and then pull myself together and get back in there for my sister.\u201d<\/p>\n
Just weeks later, on August 1, 2012, Caroline sadly passed away aged 50.<\/p>\n
Mum-of-three Davina will always remember those moments of kindness from NHS staff.<\/p>\n
She said: \u201cThat empathy means the world, and the nurse and I still remember each other. <\/p>\n
\u201cWhenever I\u2019m in A&E after one of the kids has got into a scrape we give each other a little nod.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat experience is very intense, very bonding \u2014 and most of us know that feeling. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt means everything, really. The love we feel for the NHS is like a bottomless pit.\u201d<\/p>\n
And it is why Davina, 53, is \u201cso excited\u201d to be hosting The Sun\u2019s Who Cares Wins awards, which will celebrate the amazing work of health workers, this time taking in the corona\u00advirus pandemic and beyond.<\/p>\n
She said: \u201cThis year, more than ever, we need to celebrate the health service. <\/p>\n
\u201cThese people have made huge sacrifices that impact on their sanity and safety.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve heard stories of people that didn\u2019t even get to go home for weeks and months on end, just so they could try to stay clear of Covid so they could go to work and keep us safe.\u201d<\/p>\n
Davina admits she had \u201ca bit of a cry\u201d during Clap For Carers nights in the first wave of the pandemic.<\/p>\n
Though she is determined not to get too emotional at the Who Cares Wins ceremony, which will air for the first time on Channel 4 in September.<\/p>\n
Davina said: \u201cI\u2019m going to read every\u00adone\u2019s stories at home again and again and get all my crying out at home.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe night is not about me, it\u2019s a celebration of these amazing people. So if I get too emotional I\u2019ll just pinch myself.\u201d<\/p>\n
Davina also hopes to honour the incredible vaccine rollout and The Sun\u2019s Jabs Army volunteers who helped to make it such a success.<\/p>\n
She said: \u201cI\u2019ve got two girlfriends that became volunteers. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s something that we as a nation can be very proud of. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt was such an incredible effort to coordinate this amazing vaccine rollout.\u201d<\/p>\n
While the fitness icon is excited to be free of Covid restrictions, she also hopes we come out of them \u201cgently\u201d.<\/p>\n
She said: \u201cI went to the supermarket this morning and when I went to the exit to pay I thought, \u2018This looks really weird\u2019.<\/p>\n
\u201cAn employee explained that all the plastic dividers had gone, and it felt amazing. Everyone was still wearing their mask and that felt good.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo many people are scared of everything coming back so we should be cautious of that and exit softly.\u201d<\/p>\n
Davina \u2014 who recently highlighted the realities of the menopause in Channel 4\u2019s Sex, Myths And The Menopause \u2014 hopes to celebrate the whole of the healthcare service during the awards.<\/p>\n
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She said: \u201cThink of the porters and cleaners. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe cleaners during Covid have had to work so hard to step up everything and keep on top of coronavirus, as well as MRSA. <\/p>\n
\u201cThere are so many important cogs in this enormous machine.\u201d<\/p>\n
She knows it is easy to take the NHS for granted. <\/p>\n
Davina\u2019s ex-husband Matthew Robertson, 52, has family in America and she recalls they were \u201camazed\u201d at the concept of free healthcare.<\/p>\n
She said: \u201cWhenever they visit, they never can quite believe we can just go to hospital and not have to think about it. <\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you hear it from someone else\u2019s mouth when they say, \u2018Oh well, my God, if you don\u2019t have insurance in America then you\u2019re stuffed\u2019.<\/p>\n
\u201cMost of us, very fortunately, have grown up with the NHS in our DNA. <\/p>\n
\u201cSometimes it\u2019s easy to forget everything they do for us, but this year kind of jolted us into this mass\u00adive wave of gratitude for the NHS.\u201d<\/p>\n
And Davina knows more about the NHS\u2019s inner workings than most. In her 2018 ITV show A&E Live, she reported from a working front line.<\/p>\n
She said: \u201cThe thing that struck me the most was the brutality of 12-hour shifts. When you\u2019re in medicine it\u2019s very, very intense.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot just in A&E, even on wards. <\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s always stuff going on. You\u2019ve got to be on it. <\/p>\n
\u201cThese are people\u2019s lives we\u2019re talking about. <\/p>\n
\u201cI talked to everybody working about their fitness, asking them how they look after themselves physically, be\u00adcause that\u2019s such a gift to my mental health. It helps me decompress.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s so hard, because you basically have four hours to get home, have a bath, have a shower, watch the telly then sleep \u2014 then it\u2019s back to work again.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe pace of A&E is so fast. These people come in, they are looked after and as soon as they\u2019re not an emer\u00adgency they leave A&E to go home or move to a ward.<\/p>\n
\u201cI often thought, \u2018Are these people OK? Where did they go? What happened to their family?\u2019 But A&E is just non-stop emer\u00adgencies and I guess they just don\u2019t have time to think about all of that. It\u2019s a crazy situation where you just don\u2019t get to see the afters.\u201d<\/p>\n
She also knows the humility of those on the front line, adding: \u201cThey often think they\u2019re just doing their job but to us mortals it\u2019s everything.,\u201d<\/p>\n
THE Sun is partnering with NHS Charities Together to celebrate our health heroes at the awards.<\/p>\n
Its CEO Ellie Orton said everyone will have reason to thank NHS staff and volunteers \u2014 especially after the past 18 months.<\/p>\n
She said: \u201cI have been completely humbled by their response since the pandemic started and remain in awe of the work they continue to do. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe care, commitment and skill they provide is over\u00adwhelming, and something to be truly celebrated.\u201d<\/p>\n
Last year our generous readers raised more than \u00a31million to get vital support to staff.<\/p>\n
Ellie said: \u201cIt has been an honour to be able to help by distributing funds raised thanks to the amazing generosity of the public \u2014 including Sun readers. <\/p>\n
\u201cThat money is now supporting staff and volunteers at what continues to be the most challenging time in the NHS\u2019s history.\u201d<\/p>\n
But Ellie warned: \u201cThis crisis hasn\u2019t passed and those same NHS staff and volunteers are bracing themselves for the next challenge. <\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s why it has never been so im\u00adpor\u00adtant to celebrate and give recog\u00ad\u00adnition to those who routinely go above and beyond to protect the rest of us.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can show your appreciation for them through continuing your support for NHS Charities Together.\u201d<\/p>\n
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OUR brilliant first responders have been on the front line during the pandemic \u2013 and it\u2019s time to say thank you.<\/p>\n
We are launching the 999 Hero award to celebrate the incredible work of our emergency services.<\/p>\n
That includes ambulance workers, police, fire service and air ambulance personnel.<\/p>\n
Other categories you can vote for include the Young Hero gong \u2013 won in 2019 by Ronnie Musselwhite.<\/p>\n