http://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/emma-wil...staff-10429623
Emma Willis thanks NHS staff for saving her life after rushing to hospital for emergency surgery
Big Brother host admits she 'panicked' during her ordeal
http://i1.mirror.co.uk/incoming/arti...mma-Willis.jpg
Emma Willis was wheeled into emergency surgery earlier this week after developing a stomach ache.
The Big Brother host originally thought she was suffering a "bad case of trapped wind" but it turned out to be much more serious.
The 41 year old was diagnosed with a "horribly infected appendix" and taken to surgery just hours later.
She has now taken to Instagram to thank the NHS for saving her life.
She shared a selfie of herself with her surgeon and said: "It's been a funny old week.
She explained that she was due to take her husband Matt on a "surprise birthday trip to Ibiza".
She added: "Instead, at 6am, I entered Barnet General A&E with a stomach ache that was getting progressively worse.
"I thought I may be wasting everyone's time with a bad case of trapped wind, but nine hours later, I was wheeled into theatre and what they found was a horribly infected appendix."
She then thanked hospital staff for their care.
She said: "The man in this picture was my surgeon, Marco Venza. He, and his team, were incredible.
"Thank you so so much for taking care of me and for putting me at ease every time I panicked!
"Thank you to Amy, Scarlet, Karen, Caroline, Sophia, Jan, Mary-Beth, Gemma, Maha, Clement, Gabriel, and all the other brilliant and kind people who work on Damson ward.
"And finally, to everyone working their butts off within the NHS fighting to make it work, thank YOU!"
She added the hashtag "#longlivetheNHS" to her post.
