
At the beginning of April I asked my daughter to phone an ambulance after a period of severe pain and violent sickness. Never in a million years would I ever think of phoning an ambulance, but I was desperate. Arriving at Antrim area hospital, I was sent straight to EMSU C3. From the moment I stepped into the clinic room I felt safe, my biggest fear was I couldn't explain how I felt, I am rarely ill I am very much in tune with my body so I was so stressed and afraid of not being believed. I was taken for ultrasound scan and then MRI and met the consultant\surgeon who was going to perform this surgery, and yes it was all that fast.
Mr Eltayeb will be forever in my heart as one of the nicest people I ever met. This man is the leader of a team and I think this team are blessed to have him as a mentor, you cannot lead others effectively if you cannot communicate. It's inevitable we can hear through the thin veil of curtain, this man spoke to everyone in the same calming tone, explaining difficult procedures in the simplest way so we all could understand. I have never felt more content heading for surgery.
I want to mention other members of team EMSU at level 3. Rachael, Karthik, Baby, Siobhan, Sarah, the girl on ultra sound, the nurse and radiologist at MRI (they didn't have an easy patient) the anaesthetist, the nurse in theatre, and all the doctors Dr Lui. The after care was amazing, again Mr Eltayeb explained the procedure he had done and told it like he had baked the perfect victoria sponge :) This mans ability to communicate with empathy and understanding builds trust and respect with his patients, Antrim Area Hospital should feel proud to have him.
I never actually got to a proper ward, I was still on a trolley bed in the assessment unit from day one, the nurses continually apologised for this, it never bothered me in the slightest because of the excellent care I received. The wet slice of ham, lettuce and pineapple salad never tasted so good, it was my first bite in two days, but the icing on the cake for me was two ginger snap biscuits with a cup of tea, it tasted like afternoon tea at the Ritz. Not forgetting the lovely staff that served it.
For all you male and females who choose nursing as a vocation you really have to be extra special people to go out of your way in order to make others feel better is exceptional. I will be forever grateful for my good experience in EMSU at Antrim Area Hospital, hopefully it will be my last trip for a very long while, so to all of you, while thank you seems inadequate, it's all I have :)

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