In January of last year, my little boy became unwell quite suddenly. He was soon diagnosed with an incurable kidney disease. He was 5 at the time and to be honest, I didn't take the news well. We are from Lincoln, so my son was admitted there for a few days before we moved over to QMC.
I remember arriving at this new hospital in a city I had never visited before, with my little boy, absolutely overwhelmed by the prospect of my son having an illness. He had always been very active and happy and at this point, he was retaining a lot of fluid, on high doses of steroids and quite uncomfortable.
Monique was the first person we saw when we entered E17. Because my son has a rare disease, we had been given little bits of information at Lincoln but nobody had really told us what to expect. Over the coming days as we stayed in E17, Monique visited us and talked through the syndrome my son had been diagnosed with and what the future would be like. She totally understood how we were feeling and she made us much calmer.
Over the following few months, my son showed he was resistant to the treatments we expected would help him. He went under General Anesthetic and had a biopsy which showed that his kidneys were scarred. We eventually discovered that he wouldn't go into remission and he will need a transplant.
Through all of this, my son has been amazing. I, on the other hand, didn't deal with it quite as well and this is really the reason I'm writing this nomination.
Especially in the early days, I struggled to come to terms with my son being unwell. Monique became the person we could go to anytime who would talk us through our questions. She would sit in appointments with us and talk everything through. I realise this is her job but she goes above and beyond. She stays in contact with the consultant even when he's on holiday. She's there for support even if I've asked the same question 50 times before. She has the patience of a saint and she's supported us constantly through this journey. She supported my son when he was terrified of needles and cannulas.
I really do hope that Monique is recognised for the sheer amount of care she puts into doing her role. It's hard to put into words, but just knowing that there is someone on the other end of the phone who doesn't mind talking through worries and reassuring us, has been priceless. Especially in the early days when I'd basically panic over a split hair!
All of the nurses and doctors that we have seen have been wonderful. We feel really lucky to be able to access QMC.