"my xray experience"

I am a man in my eighties and found myself feeling vulnerable and alone as a patient on a ward at North Manchester General Hospital.

During my stay I was taken to the x ray department where I was met by two nurses with kind and warm demeanours. In the room the Dr and x ray lady explained what would happen and the nurses checked with me that I understood everything. They made me comfortable and feel less anxious. One of the nurses explained to me that she was there as support for me and a hand to hold if I needed it. The biopsy seemed like it lasted longer than it did and the whole time I held the hand of the nurse who spoke to me kindly and made me feel less afraid and vulnerable and more like myself. She didn’t let go until I was ready to give her her hand back. In that room I was made to feel like a person who was important and my fears and needs were acknowledged and I was cared for in a kind and patient way.

The whole team were wonderful people. The nurse who held my hand was half my age and a different nationality but it didn’t stop her from making me feel like a real person and that someone cared about me. The simple gesture of holding someone’s hand and being kind is an incredibly powerful thing, and I felt that kindness made my illness a lot less frightening, so Thank you Lorraine and Debbie