"I feel very lucky to have the care I did"

I took ill mid October 2024. It became obvious my liver was getting damaged.  A biopsy in my local hospital 10 days after becoming ill showed my liver was very damaged. After a short spell of improving over a couple of days, my liver again was under attack and within a couple of days I was transferred to the transplant unit. 

The staff were informative, personal, had a laugh with me.  Every element of my care was talked through at a level I could understand.  My family were extremely distressed as I am a very healthy, fit man under normal circumstances so for this to be happening was really frightening.  Staff on the ward 205 were so supportive to all my family and it made a massive difference to the level of concern we were in. 

Within 24 hours, I was in the transplant list and offered a liver.  The speed of giving us information was intense but all of those staff talking to us made sure they shared the most important parts to have us as fully informed as possible in such a short time.  During my operations my wife was kept informed of my progress and had a direct line to intensive care.

As I gradually began recovery, every nurse, doctor, Co-ordinator, sickish worker, psychologist knew my case so they were mindful of how fast and immediate my situation had been. Lea and Hannah from ward 205 were particularly supportive to all the family.  They went the extra mile to make sure they had a laugh with me, encouraged me, made my room comfortable, spoke to me about food etc.  At times I felt like I was their only patient as the care was so personal. 

3 months in and I am still receiving that same level of care every time I visit clinic. The social worker Debbie has followed up to help me as I am self employed and have been unable to work.  For such a traumatic event in my life I feel very lucky to have had the care I did. 

There are volunteers in the ward too. Morray took time to talk to me, let me know about his journey and things that would help me as I didn't have any assessment before the transplant.  He shared laughs, cups of tea and the tears.  To be speaking to someone who had felt the same as me, been through the same journey, made me feel normal and had certainly made a difference to my mental health recovery.