birthday

I was born on the feast day of St Luke, the patron saint of physicians and surgeons. My father was a doctor and my mother was a nurse. She had been in labour for forty eight hours with fulminating pre-eclampsia and was heavily sedated after finally suffering eclamptic convulsions . My survival was not a priority but I was eventually delivered by forceps. My mother cannot remember the first five days of my life.There is no specific treatment for pre-eclampsia - the cause is still unknown.

St Luke, or Loukas, is also the patron saint of artists, students and butchers.