"Excellent emergency care and recovery support"

I recently had to have a sub total colectomy after severe bowel trouble due to concerns of perforation. I had been very very wary of surgery, as I was aware of the life changing implications of such a procedure, but decided to go through with it. Apparently this was good as the Doctors and Surgeon had correctly identified some very worrying trends in my bowel, and found when opening me up that there was even pus in my abdominal cavity and waiting any longer may have been catastrophic.

My surgery went extremely smoothly from my perspective, the pre-op preparations were simple and comfortable and the next thing I knew I was in the HDU. My brief stay in HDU was very pleasant(though part of that may have been the medications I was on) and my Nurses Rachel and Charlene were absolute superstars who were incredibly, attentive, reassuring and informative as I exited my surgical stupor.

I was then transferred from HDU over to Ward 10 for my recovery. I stayed in Ward 10 for the next 5 days and was well attended to again. There was some slight issues. The first was that I felt rather overwhelmed and rushed my first couple days out of surgery, as people were desperate to get me up and exercising less than 36 hours after having my abdomen opened up. However when I requested time and space, this was respected.

The second issue was that there seemed to be a miscommunication about whether I was supposed to be on a liquid diet or not, and it ended up with me requiring an NG tube to remove built up material and bile in my stomach. This was frustrating but not the end of the world, and the nurse and assistants were very good about aspirating my NG tube to keep me comfortable.

I had regular visits from the doctors who had been treating me in Ward 2 who wished to check up on me, and this was comforting as well.

On the 5th day in Ward 10, whilst sitting up in my chair I had sudden hypoxia and cardiovascular instability which was terrifying and required emergency assistance. Luckily, I had a nurse in the room with me who was able to signal for assistance.

I do not have a strong memory of the following incident, due to having Oxygen Sats in the toilet, but I recall my room being absolutely flooded with probably more than a dozen doctors, nurses, assistants etc all working together, acquiring medications, doing tests, inserting cannulas, comforting me and ensuring that I was given the adequate treatment. I strongly feel that the staff helping me that day saved my life, and I am profoundly grateful for their assistance in that awful awful time. 

Once I was more stable, I was transferred down to the ICU for a night of observation. This night was luckily uneventful, and I was able to return up to HDU for the another 2 days of close observation. I was again treated wonderfully by Charlene, and this time by Sarah as well. My second visit to HDU also involved the nurses doing an incredible job dealing with a patient who was becoming belligerent and hostile, which wasn't relevant to my care, but was very impressive.

Then I was able to be transferred to Ward 10, where I would thankfully remain for the remaining weeks of my recovery.

Those weeks in Ward 10, were very pleasant and productive for me. I was treated with respect and care by almost all of the staff the entire time. I was able to recuperate at my own pace but with whatever support I required. As I slowly recovered, the nurses and assistants and physios helped me to regain my autonomy and dignity. Aside from the general discomfort of recovering from surgery and staying in hospital, I found this time to be very relaxed and comfortable. I was almost never in want of anything, I was well monitored, and my symptoms well managed. 

By the end I was almost sad to say goodbye to Ward 10, and was definitely sad to say goodbye to the staff. I was supported right up until the very last minute with my nurse Abbey even going out of her way to hand write me a letter that would assist me in getting parking tickets waived.

Overall, whilst ensuring some terrible circumstances that have been really quite upsetting to me, the care I received in my month at Ninewells made it tolerable and quite literally kept me alive in multiple ways. Whilst I would never wish for anyone to go through what I did, if they must, I would wish they could go through with the kind of support I received.

Thank you to all the staff at Ninewells who saved my life and kept me sane.