"Endless gratitude "

I cannot thank the staff who saw me enough. I went into a&e a bit anxious, as a young female I had been told for months and months by services that my symptoms were in my head/I was ‘too young to experience this’, on this particular day the symptoms got unbearable and so I went to a&e, and I am so glad I did, right from the start I was listened to and taken seriously. within 3 hours I had a diagnosis, treatment plan and referral to a specialist in place. I know as drs/hcas/nurses it’s most likely a normal day in the life! But for me I went home and cried, I was so relieved that all I could do was cry! for the first time I had been listened to, I had the correct tests ran, my gender nor age were mentioned or the possibility it was in my head and I got a diagnosis which meant I could now start to treat my symptoms,

Being told things like “if you were a 40 year old man we’d be rushing you to hospital” and “you’re a teenager so it’s unlikely it’s anything other than in your head” when I knew something was wrong was the most frustrating thing, my condition was impacting every single part of my day to day life and no one was listening to me, until I saw the team I saw in a&e. Both my family and I will always hold the utmost gratitude for every single person I saw, from the Dr to the receptionist. I thank you from the bottom of my heart for listening to me and caring for me.

Particularly the nurse/hca who right off the bat told me “it’s okay, I believe you” and the Dr who took his time to put himself in my shoes detailing how he wants me to see a specialist because as a young person it’s probably confusing and overwhelming, I thank you for doing more than just medicine.

You’ve all made a bigger impact on my life than just simply giving me a diagnosis, after years of struggling and getting worse, you made me feel heard and given me a voice.

I thank every single one of you from the bottom of my heart and I wish you nothing but the best in your medical careers.