"Ovarian torsion surgery"

I firstly went to Geraldton ED recently with severe lower abdominal pain which I had been experiencing for over 24hrs. I got seen quite quickly & my nurse Ashlee was great, however once I was taken through, I had to wait for shift change over for a doctor to see me.

Once I got seen by a doctor, I spent time alongside my parent explaining that I had previously received surgery for ovarian torsion on my side & this pain was exactly the same. I asked them to call my surgeon/the surgeon from their rooms on call & explain the situation as my surgeon had advised me to ask this should I experience this pain again. I felt the doctor was extremely dismissive of my pain & told me I looked fine & called a different doctor who without examining me told me it was a cyst, to go home, and come back sometime during the week for a scan. It was so disheartening as the same thing happened in both times earlier (3 presentations to finally do surgery) this year, however, I had an amazing nurse (Alysse) who advocated for me & ensured I was taken seriously on my first presentation earlier in the year.

After returning home, I was in horrific pain & couldn't manage it at home so I presented to ED again the following day as I wanted to wait for the Day Shift so they would contact my surgeon for me. I had to ask my parent to delay their Perth trip so they would advocate for me as I was so anxious to be sent home again. I was so fortunate to get Alysse as my nurse again & she remembered what had happened last time & within 5 minutes of taking me in she had escalated this to the top & I was taken to a bed & seen by Dr Alam & two other nurses who were absolutely amazing. They immediately provided me with suitable pain relief to bring my pain score down from an 8-10 (when torting) to a four & called an in-person gynecological consult with Dr Sheema & Dr Jo who then consulted my surgeon. Immediately, after talking to my surgeon they made the immediate decision to take me to surgery. I was extremely anxious & upset about having multiple surgeries for such a rare condition however everyone was extremely reassuring.

Post-surgery, I was placed onto the ward into a room with 3 other females which I was happy about as in my earlier surgery I was placed straight into overflow & unfortunately had to receive a catheter which the nurse wasn't able in placing it & caused a lot of pain & bleeding whilst in a room with predominately men with curtains around us. I was vulnerable & upset in this situation. For the more recent torsion, I also had to receive a catheter & I received the same nurse from earlier who was excellent in saying she wasn't confident in this & asked a midwife to come and place it. Whilst I would've preferred more privacy than what we had I was happier it was an all female room. I was in quite alot of discomfort after surgery & was quite upset from it all as it had been a hard few days. Just as I was finally getting some sleep, my nurse came in & said they were moving me to overflow. This was not ideal, firstly I was an inpatient for two nights so a room is more comfortable however I understand we need more beds, so if they were to need to move me, I feel this should be done early before bedtime or the next morning.

Once i was in the overflow/day surgery ward, I had amazing nurses who truly cared & looked after me. They took the time to listen, provide pain relief & support me through a hard few days.

To conclude, going to ED for a recurrent condition is traumatic enough, the expectation that you are going to be listened to & care provided I feel isn't unrealistic however after three admissions this year at the same hospital, it seems it depends on what Doctors I receive as to what care I get.

Going forward, it is likely this condition will reoccur at some time in the future. It creates lots of anxiety that I will be in terrible pain & not listened to just because 'I look fine' & am not screaming the ED down. How do I proceed next time? How do I get taken seriously on my first presentation without getting sent home?

To end this, I believe I only got the care I received due to Alysse advocating for me. She advised me of the Care call however during previous presentations where Alysse was not my nurse I was not made aware.