AS The Corrs prepare to sing their praises at Newcastle Arena, I can confirm - in the words of another superband, Abba - that thanks to the Freeman Hospital "I believe in angels.''

Through the dedication, skill and tireless efforts of a team of nurses and doctors, I have also been given a first-hand glimpse of the true meaning of Christmas and the real significance of the dawning of a new year.

My own family drama began late on December 23, at a time when I would normally be wrapping the last presents.

Instead, Angus, who has been on the Freeman Hospital's liver transplant list for several weeks, suddenly became ill.

As we headed by ambulance across Newcastle's Tyne Bridge from our east Durham home, I fleetingly wondered, given the time of year, whether there would be many staff on duty.

Only minutes after arriving all fears were dispelled, as a stream of doctors and nurses calmly but swiftly began their procedures.

With tests complete, a consultant surgeon was called out. He judged that Angus, 54, should be operated on the next day. As Christmas Eve dawned, he was prepared for theatre and an operation which would be followed by a long period in the hospital's Ward 12 liver unit.

On Christmas Day, instead of preparing festive food, I sat watching mesmerising monitors as they bleeped out Angus's blood pressure, heart rate and oxygen levels.

Attached to a network of lines delivering life-giving fluids, my husband looked frail and poorly.

A sister wearing a seasonal head band and a staff nurse with Santa Claus ear-rings reminded us it was December 25th.

But nothing stopped these special carers giving their undivided attention to patients and using their precious few spare moments to reassure anxious families.

Not once did a single member of this dedicated and brilliant team complain that they were having to work over Christmas and New Year. Day after day, the same faces turned up for duty. For those of us who could only observe, it was clear that we were witnessing care at the highest possible level.

As well as the serious business of tending the very ill, there was also time for laughter and smiles, and cheering words to help pull us through some of the bleaker days.

During my husband's stay at the hospital, four liver transplant operations were carried out.

For me, these complex operations represented the true meaning of Christmas gifts and spelled a new beginning for their recipients for 2001.

For Angus, myself, our two daughters and our close family and friends, none of us will forget Christmas 2000 and the angels we met at the Freeman Hospital.

Thanks to you all.