"We were blown away by the care he received"

I was in the Royal Hospital for Children and Young People in Edinburgh for over 2 weeks with my teenage son.  

He had been attending the gastroenterology department of the hospital as an outpatient for around a year and a half with reoccurring symptoms.  He had a real fear of the scopes required to confirm a diagnosis but the hospital were incredibly supportive and made appointments for him to meet with Dr Jordan and Dr Shannon who were both very patient and empathetic.  Although the sessions were invaluable he was still not able to have the scopes carried out.  Again the hospital were understanding and sympathetic with him.  

After a really difficult few days we had to take him into A & E where he was admitted and treated with the most incredible care.  Everything was explained to us in great detail and as scary as it was we were so grateful to be spoken to honestly and openly.  I was informed that I could stay with him and we were looked after so well.  

Although the first week of our stay was very scary, the nurses and drs explained everything to us and we felt we could ask questions at any time and they would be honest with us.  He managed to get a colonoscopy with Dr Gillett who was fantastic with him.  This was such a breakthrough and allowed us to have a potential diagnosis of Ulcerative Colitis.

Treatment started the next day and was explained to us by Kat who has been a constant shining light in a very difficult and scary time.  I got to the point that as soon as Kat came to see us I knew he was going to be ok.  She was always very honest, caring and knowledgeable.  I don’t know what we’d have done without her.  

The nurses on the Dunvegan ward were incredible too, they went above and beyond for us.  One nurse I would really like to highlight was Marianne, she became our guardian angel in the time we were there.  So kind and caring.  There was an Irish nurse, I don’t remember her name but she chatted to my son and really engaged with him which helped to calm him down.  She also came to get him after the colonoscopy, she was amazing.  

Both of the play therapists were very caring and thoughtful too.  We were blown away by the room my son was in and the care he received.  The staff went over and above to make sure he was comfortable and I’ll be forever grateful.