"Exceptional Care by TACP team"

In early February this year I was taken by ambulance to the Emergency Department of the Prince of Wales Hospital at Randwick.

I was very ill and was subsequently diagnosed with Cellulitis that had turned septic. I woke up 5 days later in the ICU not remembering anything that had happened over the previous 5 days. I do remember the ambulance arriving at my home at 2:30am, but other than that, I can’t remember arriving at the hospital, being examined by the doctors or anything else.

The ICU doctors told my husband that I had a life threatening bacterial infection and had I not come to the Emergency Department when I did, that I was only hours away from death.

Due to the bacterial infection, I ended up with Necrotising Fasciitis (a flesh eating disease) which ate a gaping hole big enough to fit a tennis ball in my left thigh. Subsequently, I ended up spending the next 7 months in the hospital.

The healing of my wound was a very slow process. They tried doing a skin graft but unfortunately it didn’t work. My wound had to be cleaned and dressed every day by a wound care specialist. This was not a pleasant experience.

I was totally bed bound and could literally not move without help. To avoid getting bed sores, I had to be turned every 4 hours by the nurses. I was only allowed to have sponge baths and I could not shower or wash my hair for 3 months; 

Finally after nearly 4 months, my wound had improved to the point that I was able to go to rehab. I spent the last 3 months of my hospital admission working with the Physiotherapists and Occupational Therapists to regain enough of my mobility in order to get to a point where I could go home.

This is actually a brief synopsis of my journey in hospital. If I were to detail all the setbacks and challenges I had along the way this would turn into a book.

Finally after 7 months, I was discharged in mid-August. My Occupational Therapist and Social Worker from the hospital arranged for me to be assessed for the Transitional Aged Care Program (TACP). This is a 12 week government funded program providing in-home care and therapy for older people that have had a long hospital stay. The aim of the program is to help older people regain their independence so that they can stay living safely in their home and avoid having to go into a nursing home. I was assigned a team of carers from the South Eastern Sydney Health District’s TACP.

I would like take this opportunity to express my sincere gratitude to all members of my TACP team who have looked after me since my discharge from the POW Hospital.

I have many complex health issues both physical and mental. All of my team members went above and beyond to help me re-adjust and settle back into life at home. They worked tirelessly to help me achieve my goals and they genuinely care for their patients.

Along the way, I had some setbacks and challenges which at times made me feel like giving up. My team guided and nurtured me through all of these difficult scenarios with kindness, compassion and bucket loads of encouragement. I don’t believe I could have achieved the results I have without the commitment and dedication of my Occupational Therapist (Annie), my Physiotherapist (Jess) my Community Aid Nurse (Ally), my Wound Care Nurse (Kim) and my Social Worker (Julie). I could go on forever listing all the individual things this amazing group of ladies has done for me but if I did, this would turn into a Thesis.

My twelve weeks on the program finished this week. I had my final assessment review and I have met and exceeded all of the goals that we set out at the beginning of the program. I still have a ways to go to get to where I would eventually like to be, however I now have the knowledge and skills to continue working on my recovery at home. This was only made possible by the dedication of my TACP team.

I would encourage anyone offered the opportunity to participate in the TACP program to take it on-board and give it your all. It has been life changing for me.

It is with great sadness that I have to say goodbye to these angels. I will miss them all so much.