"Spending the entire Christmas period in the ICU"

My Dads' patient journey began on the 24th of December 2018. 

He called me that morning to talk about our Christmas day plans, we spend Christmas together every single year and he was excited, as always. This phone call was very different though, he wasn't himself, he was confused, he was hallucinating and he clearly needed medical assistance. Within an hour we were in Accident & Emergency, they explained that Dad had an infection and he would be moved to Acute Medical Admissions to be started on IV antibiotics.

At around 7pm my Dad who at this point was comfortable-ish in bed sent me home to be with my children and get ready for Christmas Day (He had convinced himself he would be out in time for his dinner!!). Off I went, to try and put on a great Christmas for my daughters even though I had a feeling something wasn't quite right. At 2:45 am on Christmas morning, my phone rang, my Dad was struggling and he was being taken to the Intensive Care Unit. Myself and my brother rushed in, we waited for what felt like an eternity for the amazing staff in 118 to stabilise our Dad.

I remember so clearly the moment where we went in to see him, it must have been around 4am at this point. He was still unsettled and still struggling and so at around 9am he was ventilated. Spending Christmas Day, boxing day and the entire Christmas period in the Intensive care Unit was a strange feeling. The consultant explained to us that our Dad was one of the sickest people in ICU, he had Septic Shock and Multi-Organ Failure and they would do everything in their power to save him but they honestly did not know if our Dad would survive. Even writing this now brings a tear to my eye.

Anyway, that is the start of my Dad's story but I'm going on a bit! So, I'll attempt to tell a long story rather quickly! I can't remember exactly (I think it was around day 9 or 10?) in  ICU that we started to notice some improvements and after about 3 weeks in Intensive Care our Dad was discharged to a regular ward. Hooray! I cannot even begin to explain the feelings of relief, I also wasn't expecting to miss the staff so much! It was the most horrendous experience, never knowing what the outcome was going to be but we knew the AMAZING team in 118 would be there for us throughout. We were shown so much kindness, compassion and the staff made it that bit easier to face the unknown of being a relative within the intensive care environment.

The first couple of days our Dad was being looked after by a nurse named Paul, I need to mention him because those were the darkest days and he made them easier in some way. He was so knowledgeable and took so much time in explaining exactly what was going on with Dad and what each piece of equipment in the room was for. He even took phone calls from my Dad's sister in Canada to keep her informed. He really is fantastic! I remember him saying he was going to do another course, perhaps a phd? Good luck Paul! There were so many wonderful people looking after our Dad and we tell him about them all the time! One day, he would like to come and meet them all. I just want to run off a few names of the nurses who we will never forget.

Paul, Tina, Jen,  Lyndsay, Rosion (bet I've spelt that wrong!), Emma, Rebecca ( You girls were just new yet we would have been lost without you for hugs, support and hope!) Lenor, Isla, & not forgetting Gordon who was lucky enough to get Dad when he was awake and very delirious (& very demanding) ha!

There are so many more who made a difference to us.. We did not come across one person who wasn't lovely. Thank you for making a difficult time that little bit easier. We will never forget you all. You will always be special in the eyes of our family, you are a credit to nursing and as an almost qualified nurse myself, I learnt a lot from watching you all those few weeks. 

Thank you doesn't seem enough, but that is all we can say. From the bottom of our hearts, thank you so much!