"Care after my accident"

After a motorcycle accident in Leadhills Scotland I was transported to Dumfries hospital. It was found my right shoulder and left hand needed an operation leaving me in a place where I basically had no upper body to tend to my basic needs.

The care I received from all the staff at Dumfries was great, however Isla a Trauma and Rehab Coordinator really stood out for me.

Initially I felt exposed and isolated since I'd never been in a position in which I'd been so far away from my family and friends and in essence, helpless. To be fair when I knew this wasn't going to be a short stay I was mentally getting ready to put myself in a state of lock down mode again, of which I wasn't feeling happy about at all. How wrong could I have been though, Dumfries harnessed this situation and made me so comfortable!

I'm quite an independent person, I don't like to ask for help and if I get help, it needs to be off someone I can trust. Such is life, that in this situation I had no one so I had to reach out, this is when I met Isla.

I felt I had an instant bond with her, to be fair I thought she was a nurse at first who had a bit more time available. Just remember I was on painkillers so my train of thought and awareness wasn't the greatest!!

As the sober moments became more and more, I started to question my surroundings and then Isla’s motifs.

Why do you have more time to talk to me? I asked.

It felt different in her care, and from understanding her job it made sense, a penny drop moment occurred, how had I never heard of this job before because it's so crucial? It's what I needed and I expected what every other patient needed as well. So hopefully this story goes someway to enabling more Islas' to be available so I can pay my experience forward therefore cementing that role in place across the whole of the NHS.

Like a mobile phone, I could live without it when the technology wasn't there, but now I know what it is I'm ashamed to say if you took it off me I'd be lost. To this point if I was to be in a ward again I'd be requesting a rehab coordinator to come to see me.

Isla helped and supported my wellbeing whilst I had no one to turn to. We worked through problems I faced in terms of transferring out of NHS Scotland and into NHS England and thus closer to home and a support network.

On that point, when I did get to the Middlesbrough outpatients surgery on transfer day after an almighty 2.5 hour 132 mile journey with a broken shoulder and hand, I approached the receptionist and uttered word for word what I was told to say. A blank expression was the result of the explanation I gave.

The receptionist then went out to make a few checks and came back and looked shocked! I was now waiting for the computer says no moment but... I was told this was the first time that she'd experienced a situation in which everything had been sent ahead of me! All was in order and I didn't need to worry about anything, just sit down and wait for my name to be called out. That was when I knew Isla had sent it all over. She could beat the system, she understood the cultural norms as a challenge to succeed and create positive change.

Whilst I was in her care she explained the alien terminology to me, helped me understand the system I was now in which meant I had been focussed solely on getting better without any stress. The biggest problem was that I was always asking for help but I couldn't give anything back.

This caregiver prioritised me, this attitude resonated with me, I understood this mentality since I take my job so seriously to support others and now after 15 hours at work with the night shift knocking on my window to go home, I'm making the effort to note down my story of kindness received by the approachable, friendly, supportive Isla. Who keeps to her commitments, always has the answer to the next question you're going to ask and will always respond with a warm smile when the immortal words of, can you just are uttered.

Over 8 weeks later I'm now almost back to normal albeit with some metal and pins in tow and whilst my accident wasn't the most pleasurable, I'm glad I experienced staying at Dumfries and being at the care of all the staff and Isla. There'll always be a special place in my heart for Dumfries.

Thank you.