"Diagnosed with Crohn's Disease"

I would like to praise all the staff on HDU and E3 when I went to A&E at Bolton Hospital with severe stomach pains. I was seen quite quickly and they gave me pain relief then sent me for tests.

They found I had Crohn's disease and needed part of my intestine removing. I was sent for surgery the following day and recovered on E3 ward and I was looked after really well.

Unfortunately, after a few days, I fell ill and found I had developed Septicemia and Pneumonia and was sent to HDU. I spent 2 weeks on the ward, I don't remember much other than how nice the nurses were. They did everything plus more for me and I wasn't the best patient at times due to my suffering from Hallucinations and wasn't myself. When I came round I was so grateful for everything they had done.

Once I was feeling better I spent a further 3 weeks in E3 and once again I was looked after really well, all the staff were very pleasant and always had a smile on their faces. Although the patients were all in for something that wasn't pleasant (Crohn's, Colitis, Bowel cancer etc) our spirits were lifted and, sounds strange, but we all had a good laugh each day and were comforted when we felt down.

The TVN and Stoma nurses (Kate, Sharon, Sam and Janet) also looked after me very well and did a lot to help me through the difficult stage with my wound and stoma.

I'm now on the mend and waiting to go in for my reversal (have my intestines connected back together) and I'm not worried about going back as I know I will be looked after by a great team.