"My father"

My husband and I live with my father in his home to make sure he gets all the care he needs. My father had fallen very ill due to a severe chest infection and he was admitted to the emergency department at Sir Charles Gardiner hospital for treatment which he thankfully recovered from. He was then sent to Osborne Park Hospital for rehabilitation but shortly after I received a call from OPH to advise that Dad had an unwitnessed fall. Further tests showed he fractured his hip and surgery was promptly performed at SCGH which went well. Following surgery, he was sent back to OPH Ward 5 then on 7 August he was sent to Ward 7 to commence intensive rehabilitation where he still remains.

Shortly after his fall I received a call from Sue who advised she was managing the investigation of the fall and kindly offered to support me and address any questions or concerns I had while my father was recovering from the surgery. After moving my father to Ward 7, OPH advised that my father should be discharged and would be ready to go home on 12 August. I felt this was too premature and recovery was not quite back to his pre-hospitalisation baseline. I contacted Sue to give her an update of my father’s situation and my concern to discharge him at the time. Sue offered to consult with the medical team and check in on my father. After seeing my father, Sue came back to me with an update and told me she put forward her recommendation that my father should continue to remain in hospital for further rehabilitation.

What an absolute pillar of support Sue has been, and I would like to offer my deepest thanks and gratitude for the amazing support Sue has given me. Not only did she make sure he was continuing his rehabilitation but upon learning of his diarrhea, Sue put in a recommendation to have the issue further assessed. My father has been suffering from constant bowel issues for many years and because his body has not been properly digesting food, he has been very underweight for a long time. Despite me raising these concerns with my father’s GP and other medical staff in the past it has continued without any further treatment.

Since Sue has been involved my father has been receiving the much-needed medical attention which I’m sure if she were not involved my father would have been discharged well before he was ready to leave with existing ailments continuing to remain untreated . His mobility, while not perfect has since significantly improved since being hospitalised and other ailments are now closely monitored by the hospital medical team.

Caring for the elderly at the best of times is challenging let alone when they are unwell but having Sue was massively helpful and I can’t thank her enough for what she has done to make this time easy for me.

Thank you Sue! xx