A MOTHER-OF-THREE has given her heartfelt thanks to readers of The Press after her eldest daughter was saved thanks to the new Guardian Angels unit.

Last month, nine-year-old Anna Beckett was rushed into York Hospital after suffering ketoacidosis – an extremely dangerous complication of diabetes.

The plucky youngster, who has suffered with type one diabetes since she was four, was immediately admitted to the new high-dependency unit on the children’s ward.

Her condition was so serious she was later transferred to Leeds General Infirmary, but her mother, Annette Maas, said she would not be here today without the initial care she received in the new Guardian Angels unit.

Annette, of South Bank, York, said: “She was in a really dangerous condition, but the new high-dependency unit meant she was able to get the best treatment immediately, and that saved her life.”

Anna, who has since made a full recovery and has even returned to ballet lessons, became ill after her appendix ruptured and her body was unable to cope with the infection due to being diabetic.

Annette, 40, said: “When you’re in diabetic ketoacidosis, your body basically shuts down. She needed to be operated on to remove her appendix, but they couldn’t give her anaesthetic until her diabetes was stabilised.

“There was a point when I didn’t think she was going to come out as she was. I thought she was going to get septicaemia and I was just so worried about what was going to happen to her. It was a scary time.

“The staff were really supportive. We had a nurse in the high-dependency room the whole time and the specialist diabetes nurse was also there to explain what was going on.

“Being in the room made it feel more frightening because you knew how serious it was, but on the other hand, it was comforting because we knew she was getting the best possible attention and care.

“Everything was so efficient and I was never worried about the care she was getting. Just little things like the lighting made it more comfortable for her and it would have been quite a different experience without the Guardian Angels unit.”

Annette and her partner, Laurence Beckett, said they were delighted the appeal had reached its £300,000 target and thanked everybody who supported the appeal over the past three years.