International Nurses Day

Hey so today is international nurses day and I am always thankful for all the great nurses who have looked after me while I have been in hospital. They have made bad times less bad and recovery less daunting. But here's something you might not know if you have not read my early blogs four and a half years ago I would have died if it hadn't been for the instinct and actions of a nurse, DB. She thought I was a lot sicker than the ED medics thought and followed me up to general receiving and got me seen by the High dependency unit and less than 24 hrs later I was in ICU after my oxygen stats dropped to the low 80s and I was confused and incoherent as well as paranoid. If I had have been left on a general ward by the time it was noticed I had deteriorated I might have been a lot worst or even dead.

Then I was in ICU where a team of ICU nurses looked after me 24/7 for 3 weeks 2 and a half on a ventilator. The nurses controlling every aspect of my bodily function, it is an intense job for an intense ward, the fact is ICU nurses look after the sickest people in the hospital and help them recover from things that would kill others. They are some of the kindest people in the entire world, they see people at their absolute worst and still have smile on their faces. They work extremely hard in supporting the ICU survivors back to health.

So on this most important day I want to say thank you to all the hard-working nurses at NHS Ayrshire and Arran because without them I'd be in a much worst place but I also want to thanks some of my friends who are nurses, who work so very hard to make the world better for people either through world-class care or world-class research. 

Eve aka BrowofJustice, my friend who made me feel welcome on social media who helped me be the best me I could be and supported my writing when I was starting out.

Kate Tantam The RehabLegend, one of the hardest working people I know and one of the biggest hearts. She is a wonderful person and a great nurse trying to improve ICU for everyone.

Heidi Lindroth An ICU researcher and ICU nurse, she works hard to reduce delirium and is a is also a wonderful human being. Always looking for ways to make things better.

Kali Dayton Her podcast Walking Home From The ICU is a wonderful resource and a must listen to anyone who hasn't. IT is well thought out and executed and provides insight into a whole range of ICU related topics as well as views from lots of different health care professions. Yes she is a Nurse Practioner but you have to be a nurse first so I am counting her :)

Pam Ramsay  A former ICU nurse turned ICU researcher, she gave me my first chance of speaking about my time in ICU and my writing of poems. Without that first step I am not sure where I would be, it was big deal as she didn't know me and I had no idea who she was but she placed her trust in me and that meant alot.

Caroline Ashton I don't hold it against her that the first time we met she thought I was a waiter, I was wearing my three-piece suit and wasn't wearing my jacket so I understood the confusion. She is a hard worker trying to raise understanding of delirium and dementia mostly single-handed. She is a kind person who wants increase the understanding of Delirium superimposed on dementia.

There are so many other great nurses out there too but these are my friends and I am extremely honoured and humbled to call them that. Few can match them and none can surpass them.