"Empathy, patience, kindness, and understanding"

I cannot praise the wonderful staff at Station 9 enough. I have spent the past month there with a set of complex and extremely painful issues, which made me a rather difficult patient.

Despite that, all the staff have been not only exceptionally professional, but above and beyond that they have shown great empathy, patience, kindness, and understanding.

Through their actions, words, and attitude they managed to allow me to keep my dignity, even in very difficult circumstances, no matter what time of day or night (during my stay the longest sleep was 3 hours).

They put up with my mess and screaming with pain, responding with painkillers quickly whenever possible, and trying to help me work through it. The care staff and the cleaning staff always kept my room and bathroom hygienic and spotless whilst remaining pleasant and courteous.

The doctors and medical staff did a great job of trying different treatments and pain medication to achieve a balance between the medication and its side effects. I was constantly made a part of the discussion and played a large part in the decision making.

Eventually I came home, still in pain and with other problems, but now as an outpatient I will continue specialised treatment until my symptoms have improved. I know there is no quick fix, and I must be patient now.

I would also like to give a shout out to the kitchen staff. There are a lot of jokes about hospital food, but I cannot fault the food or the feeding logistics of Ayr hospital. It must be a very difficult task to plan, prepare, and execute hundreds of meals a day whilst offering variety and quality, all on a low budget. In Ayr hospital I had a good variety of heathy food to choose from every day, and the food quality was excellent. It was always served hot and delivered by friendly, helpful staff, and I can honestly say I enjoyed it and looked forward to mealtimes every day.

All in all, well done Station 9. My gratitude knows no bounds, and despite my being more ill than ever before in my life, I am glad I landed in Station 9. Bless you all.