Alumni Stories: Pioneering anaesthetist and avid mountaineer
Grahame Meadows (Class of 1960) began his medical training at the University of Liverpool in 1955. He became a consultant anaesthetist in 1966, at the now Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital in Broadgreen, where he carried out a lot of ground-breaking work including the introduction and training of Perfusionists.
Grahame sadly passed away in 2020 and is fondly remembered here by his daughter Sue Grisdale.
“Grahame Alan Meadows was born on 28th April 1936 in Northampton. At school he was told that he would never get the grades for medical school, but he proved them wrong and started at the University of Liverpool Medical Institute in 1955.
He qualified as doctor in 1960 and worked in many of the old Liverpool hospitals. Dad became a Consultant Anaesthetist at Broadgreen in the Chest Unit there in 1969. During his career he did pioneering work in cardiac anaesthetics and helped with the development of the perfusionists’ careers and qualification - those who run the bypass machines during heart surgery.
Every Christmas Day, dad would dress up as Father Christmas and with an entourage of other consultant anaesthetists and their families, all dressed up as nurses and matrons, would go to every ward in Broadgreen to give out presents to all the patients. It was great fun. As children that’s how our Christmas Day would begin.
Dad retired from the Cardio Thoracic Centre at Broadgreen in 1996 but continued to work at the Liverpool Womens Hospital for another five years.
Dad was an adventurer!
As a young adult he and mum had church walking holidays in Snowdonia with the Christen Endeavour Homes. Old photographs show them having great fun, and the love of Snowdonia continued all his life.
In December 1990 Dad and my brother Richard, who has inherited Dad’s love of mountain walking, set off on one of their adventures up their favourite mountain, Tryfan. It was a lovely Wednesday morning when dad tragically fell 100 foot down the mountain.
Richard managed to climb down to him and held on to Dad on a ledge above another 50-foot drop. He blew his whistle to raise the alarm and amazingly someone appeared and went to get mountain rescue. It took several attempts to get Dad, who was unconscious, off the mountain. The cold definitely saved him that day.
Dad was airlifted off by Ogywen Valley Mountain Rescue and taken to Ysbyty Gwynedd Hospital in Bangor. There he spent a month in intensive care, under the supervision of a Sister who had worked with dad in Broadgreen.
Many of his colleagues in the Chest Unit visited with plans to take him back to their ITU, but he was already in the best care - they were used to dealing with mountain accidents.
He really should not have survived but he did and returned to work six months later.
He amazed everyone. He even went back up Tryfan. He wouldn’t let it beat him!
Dad loved being a doctor and staff loved working with him. He was respected and much loved by all he worked live from the tea lady, porters and theatre staff to the ITU staff, medical students and surgeons.
On his retirement, Dad made a speech which emphasised the importance of good communication at all times. Whatever walk of life you take it is true that good communication is vital for people and teams to succeed, develop and work together, whatever their role is.”
Discover more
- Hear more Alumni tales on our Alumni Stories Catalogue (link).
- Are you a Liverpool graduate with a story to tell? Get in touch with us at mednews@liverpool.ac.uk.