A massive, massive thank you – from Kate
We don’t always publish the letters we get from our patients about our teams, however this one was extra special so we thought we’d share it with you.
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Dear Matthew,
To say it is my pleasure to be emailing you is quite literally an understatement because not only did the care and attention of your staff mean I am still here to write this, but I have to tell you how amazing they all were. Well, still are.
I came to be a patient at Queen’s in December last year after a turbulent five weeks of continual migraines, vomiting and a dubious looking image following a CAT scan of my head (which we now know was a benign brain tumour) at Colchester A&E that was sent to you Neurology Team for a second opinion. Their answer being; “Get her here. Get her here NOW.” Naturally, your colleagues in the North did as they were told and I was blue lighted down the A12 on a Monday morning, in the peak of rush hour of all times. Sadly, I was in a state of unconsciousness at this point so I can’t sing the praises of anyone in particular, but I take great comfort at being told that the surgical team were essentially waiting for me and within a few hours of arriving I was recovering well from my EVD operation.
Which leads me to my first, genuine, heart felt thank you and I am only sorry I do not know who this person is. This thank you goes to whoever it was who cut and shaved my hair to enable the drain to be inserted into my head. I’m very proud of my hair; it’s very long, professionally dyed and because there is so much of it I am one of those lucky ladies who can flamboyantly style it without the need for extensions. When I eventually surfaced in Sahara B ward to find that a BIG strip of my hair had gone (bearing in mind I had never factored this situation ever happening and naturally the decision to have this operation was not mine to be made) I was a smidge freaked. That was until I ascertained that my lifesaving undercut had been blended so well with the parting of my hair that you can’t even tell I have hair missing. In the words of my hairdresser; “THAT is a very impressive job, they’ve really gone above and beyond to factor it in with the rest of your hair.” And that’s the point; they did take the time to think about that and they didn’t have to. They could have taken all my hair off or just shaved it in a non-flattering way because if the priority is to remove fluid that is essentially boiling my brain, ‘discussing hair do’s’ is probably just wasting precious time. But somebody actually stopped, thought about the emotional impact of the patient (me) the other side of the operation and demonstrated a level of empathy that is really hard to come by these days. I am honestly and 100% grateful to that person; if I am ever lucky enough to find out who they are I would love to personally thank them myself because the emotional fallout of this entire weird and wonderful situation has drastically been reduced thanks to their common sense. And yes, vanity aside; how you look, particularly with your hair, is a big thing in regards to your wellbeing when you have been unwell so I will always be thankful to them.
And then there’s Sahara B ward… my goodness, I’ve met some lovely people in my time but none come close to the wonderful, kind and fantastic staff who work on this ward. I can hand-on-heart say that the six days I spent on Sahara B were some of the most positive and pleasurable I have had to date. As you can imagine they were extremely busy, especially in the week leading up to Christmas and I vividly remember the poor Maria (who I sensed had been stitched up with an extra-long shift) who never dropped her smile once. Even though she had stress pouring from her she remained polite and extremely professional throughout. To be honest, all of the nurses were in a similar boat, but they too kept up their professionalism and they were a real joy to be looked after by. I’m saddened I can’t remember all their names to list them individually but please be assured all the nurses were brilliant.
But there is one nurse who I have to extend a personal thank you to, and that is Louise who was working the nightshift on Wednesday 21 December. Unfortunately I found myself in a situation that I won’t explain at length as it doesn’t paint me in a particularly fetching light (imagine you’ve had major head surgery, it’s 2am, you can’t sleep and you’re having a tantrum that rivals most pampered princesses because someone is snoring). Whilst having this ridiculous meltdown Louise was extremely kind and patient with me – she even went to the effort of making me a hot chocolate in a bid to help me sleep. Then in a twist of fate Louise managed to organise me to be moved into my own room and thanks to her I spent the rest of my stay in Side Room 8. To say this gesture not only accelerated my recovery, but her kindness still makes me smile and teary to this day at the thought. Again, Louise didn’t have to arrange for me to be placed in that room – they are a luxury in a very busy NHS hospital let’s be honest. But she recognised through exercising some empathy that it would help my situation at that particular moment and I am sorry that I cannot express how honestly indebted I am to her enough.
Of course there are the smaller, but equally important thank you’s to the wonderful Sodexo catering assistant (I still regret never writing her name down) who always made my Mum a cup of tea whilst she was visiting; Janis in the Health Records team, who had the laborious task of compiling all my records for me; and the very lovely nurse on Sahara B, who kindly updated my hospital records from my former married name back to my maiden name herself because of the heavy workload of the ward clerk. She was very sympathetic that I wasn’t too keen on being referred to my married name after my recent divorce and I thought that was a very kind thing to do that, technically speaking, was not her job. To be honest everyone I met throughout my stay deserves a thank you because everyone I came into contact with was WONDERFUL; even since I have returned the outpatient receptionists (who probably dread telling patients there is a delay) are a joy to meet. I can honestly say everybody who works in your hospital is a star.
And last, but by no means least I have to say a huge, massive, profound thank you to the utterly gorgeous and very talented Mr. Vindlacheruvu. Oh my days, this guy is without doubt not only the hero of the whole situation, but my very own hero who categorically saved my life. I have even recovered to a point where I am feeling the best I have done in years thanks to him. I appreciate I’m not very clued up when it comes to all things medical, so consequently I am always slightly impressed with those in this field, but between him and his surgical team they performed a very highly skilled operation that just leaves me in complete awe. I had no idea this cyst in my brain was outstaying it’s welcome, and due to its rare nature no one could have guessed it was going to happen to me. Then there’s the fleeting thoughts of what could have happened if I hadn’t of gone to Colchester A&E when I did or what if I hadn’t arrived at Queen’s in time, even the complications that could have arisen following the surgery that will never be; simply because of him. And that is why he will always be my hero*. I honestly think he is amazing.
I hope that you are genuinely proud of all your colleagues because they are truly remarkable and they represent everything that is fantastic about the NHS. Their hard work, commitment and compassion means so much to me, that I will always think the world of every single one of them.
Best wishes,
Kate
*I did tell Mr. Vindlacheruvu that he was my hero at my recent outpatients appointment with him, but feel free to tell him again because he probably thought I was joking!