‘A doctor’s story of healing, heartbreak and hope in Irish children’s healthcare’
– Intensive Care: A Memoir
[ About Intensive Care ]
IT ALL RESTS ON A STORY.
THIS IS ONE YOU WON’T FORGET
In these pages, Dr Suzanne Crowe opens the doors to a world few ever the charged and fragile realm of paediatric intensive care. From her earliest days as a junior doctor to becoming one of Ireland’s leading specialists, she shares extraordinary stories of the children she’s treated, the families who’ve loved them and the moments when life hung by a thread.
But this is not only a book about medicine. It is about how the healing begins with a doctor bearing witness and being present. It is about what it means to offer hope when certainty is gone. At its heart lies the searing personal loss of Suzanne’s own child, Beatrice – a grief that reshaped her as a doctor and as a person.
Written with honesty and a clinician’s eye for detail, this is a story of deep compassion and unflinching truth. At a time of turmoil for children’s medicine in Ireland, we are reminded that the real work lies not just in saving lives, but in holding space for them – with courage, humility and love. A profoundly human memoir from a doctor whose work has touched many lives.
[ My Review ]
Intensive Care by Dr Suzanne Crowe published with Hachette Ireland August 28th and is described as ‘a moving memoir of children’s medicine, personal loss and one doctor’s unforgettable healing journey‘. She is currently a consultant in paediatric intensive care in CHI Crumlin and president of the Irish Medical Council.
Dealing with critically ill children on a daily basis is a job that most of us will never experience. Many parents, including myself, have faced the horror of rushing our children to hospital in the early hours in a blind panic, full of fear and anxiety for what may lie ahead. For Dr Suzanne Crowe and her colleagues this is their lives. With an incredible understanding and an inner strength these medical angels offer compassion and empathy helping parents and guardians through these absolutely terrifying times.
In this memoir Suzanne explores her early years as a medical student with insights into her own personal battles as she considered stepping away from medicine as a career. But wise words from other corners encouraged her to continue with her studies. Over the years she adapted to this new world, married and had children of her own. Her career progressed and although some days were tougher than others, she remained steadfast in her decision to progress her career, often forfeiting personal moments with her family.
On a holiday in France with her husband Barry and their children, Suzanne faced difficulties with a pregnancy and had to endure the unimaginable when her time with her new baby Beatrice was to be momentary. Losing Beatrice was a life-changing experience but from this pain grew her determination and belief that paediatrics, specifically in intensive care, was where she wanted to specialise and focus her energies. Her own personal loss gave her a better understanding of the raw pain and anguish that parents endure in a children’s hospital and she wanted to help. Challenging lessons about communicating honesty and hope were learnt along the way and in her memoir Suzanne is very open about the mistakes she made, citing particular anonymous cases where she knew she had stepped out of line. How to manage the expectations of parents was a tough lesson learnt but it also was a necessary one along her own personal journey.
Throughout her memoir, Suzanne mentions her own personal life and the impact her career had on her young family. Missing sports events, birthday celebrations and other family moments made her more determined to value the precious minutes and hours she spent with her children. She did her best over the years to protect her children from her job. It was difficult to compartmentalise her work and her family life but the decision to work in such a harrowing environment was hers, not one that her own family needed to hear about.
The stories that are recounted throughout these pages are difficult but for every story of sorrow there are stories of hope and love. I am always blown away by the determination of staff and family to ensure that the children’s ward is one filled with compassion and warmth. Suzanne speaks about the people she worked with over the years and their ability to pick up on the need of a child, or a family member, at any given time. In a role where one is always learning, she mentions how managing expectations is vital but also how she and her colleagues choose to speak to a parent is also as important. So much trauma can trigger a number of emotions, including anger and verbal abuse, but Suzanne Crowe and her staff manage to listen and diffuse the situation by being honest but also offering support and a shoulder to cry on.
Suzanne Crowe is an exceptional individual with a steely determination to do right within her realm as an advocate for children’s rights. Within these pages, there are stories full of courageous children and their families. Amongst the suffering and pain, there are life-affirming moments filled with warmth and hope. Although set in an Irish environment, I have no doubt that similar stories are told in hospitals across the globe. This behind-the-scenes glimpse into a PICU (Paediatric Intensive Care Unit) is an eye-opening and impacting experience but one that will also leave you optimistic for the care of children in a medical setting.
An extremely affecting read. Intensive Care is an incredibly honest, brave and profound memoir about the life and work of Dr Suzanne Crowe to date. Child mortality has decreased over the years and, with the right people involved, we can only hope that more families get to bring their children home with them to where they belong.
[ Thank you to Plunkett PR & Hachette Ireland for a copy of Intensive Care in exchange for my honest review ]
[ Bio ]
Suzanne Crowe grew up in Bray, County Wicklow, and studied medicine at Trinity College Dublin. She went on to train in Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine and practices mostly with children.
She is currently a consultant in paediatric intensive care medicine at Children’s Health Ireland in Crumlin, Ireland’s largest acute paediatric teaching hospital, and president of the Irish Medical Council. She has a passionate interest in children’s rights, especially in terms of health and social care, sits on several charity boards including LGBT Ireland and Cheshire Ireland, and has a regular column in the Irish Independent in which she writes about healthcare and child-related topics.
She is a widow with five children, one of whom – Beatrice – died shortly after she was born. Beatrice was Suzanne’s major inspiration to work in intensive care for children.
Suzanne lives in Dublin and Intensive Care is her first book.
