I arrived at hospital around 1pm on Wednesday 12th June 2013, the staff on the Barbara Russell Unit were absolutely amazing and were very kind. This Unit is for paediatric burns, neurosurgery and orthopaedic patients. I definitely prefer staying on a children's neurosurgery ward rather than an adults neurosurgery ward, because it's not as scary and I wasn't the youngest patient there. They have play specialists and despite everyone being ill, some very serious, the atmosphere was relaxed and calming; most of the time it didn't even feel like I was in hospital.
My Consultant's Registrar called, Neil came to see me when I arrived into hospital. Neil explained everything that was going to happen and took his time to make sure that I understood the procedure, especially as I have to sign my own consent form and have done so since I was first diagnosed when I was 14 years old. He allowed my family and I to ask as many questions as we liked. Later that evening Professor Gill, who done the biopsy operation came and spoke to my Mum and I, as my Dad and sister Rebecca went back to the CLIC Sargent house. Professor Gill carried out the operation but my consultant is Mr. Pople, this is because Professor Gill pioneered this procedure and they were able to get him to do the biopsy operation.
On my first night in hospital, I needed a cannula put in to one of my veins to take bloods and so that the next morning, which was operation day, they could give me anaesthetic straight away without worrying about finding a vein. I've got the world's worst veins, it even says this in my hospital notes, that's how bad it is, the anaesthetists in the past have had to use ultra sound to find my veins, and even this hasn't always worked. The Nurse practitioner found a vein the first time which was amazing for me as it meant I wasn't poked and prodded around too much, where I end up looking and feeling like a pin cushion.
I found out that the restaurant at Frenchay Hospital is called Redwood, the same name as my school's restaurant in N. Ireland. I thought that this was very spooky and must be a sign of something.
There is a fantastic charity that have only started up in January, they are called Little Angels Cakes. They organise cakes to be made and delivered for sick children by their volunteer bakers across the UK. I decided instead of having my cake just for my family and I, I wanted to have it when I was in hospital to share with the staff, parents and children on the unit where I was staying. I chose the theme of the cake which was a Pirate and Mermaid theme, Little Angels Cakes asked one of their brilliant volunteer bakers from, Louise's Cakeaway to bake and decorate the cake. All the staff, children, parents and myself on the unit absolutely loved the cake which looked too good to eat!
Thank you very much to everyone who has been reading my blog and sharing it, I can't believe it has got over 1000 views already. Thank you as well for letting people know about my Facebook and Twitter pages, as well as my online shop, please keep sharing.
Danielle :)
