"Support for my son to have bloods taken"

We have struggled to get my son’s bloods taken for several years.

He had a bad experience when he moved and the needle made his arm very swollen and sore.

He suffers from extreme anxiety but needs his bloods taken due to his ADHD medication.

The CAMHS under 12 team referred us to Megan at play therapy.

She communicated by an initial phone call then texts. She immediately put us at ease and reassured us about the service she could provide.

Our son is adopted and struggles to trust adults but he made an immediate rapport with Megan due to her nurturing, friendly and approachable manner.

We had several sessions with Megan where she talked through what happens and used a fake arm called Frank. Our son responded really well to this.

Megan was really good at getting to know his likes and fears and connecting with him. We were extremely impressed by her professionalism and ability to engage so quickly with him.

On the day we nearly didn’t make it as our son was so anxious but telling him Megan would definitely be there got him in the car!

There was then a mix up with the bloods being ordered and it was very stressful but thankfully Megan came to the rescue!

We cannot thank Megan enough for her extremely helpful and supportive attitude. Our son is now sad he is not seeing her anymore!