Wonderful Giraffes
Day 95 of Hugo’s treatment sees up back at GOSH for high dose methotrexate round 3. As usual we receive a warm welcome from the wonderful nurses on Giraffe ward. We have been on Giraffe ward for all of our stays so far, even though there are 2 other oncology wards. Giraffes are Henry’s favourite animal so it seemed fitting and strangely comforting when they brought us here after Hugo was diagnosed, like this was the right place for us to be. The ward is starting to feel like a second home and the nurses, many of whom have been part of Hugo’s journey from the beginning, are starting to feel like friends. They have supported not just Hugo, but all of us. Building our knowledge and our strength. Giving us the confidence to continue when they are not by our side.
They have held my hand, both literally and metaphorically, through some of my darkest hours and given answers to my questions, some trivial and others that I have almost been too afraid to ask.
I have watched as they treated my shy, sensitive child with patience and tenderness, helping him to grow in confidence until he came to see that hospitals, and the people in them, are not as scary as he once feared. They have taken my little man into their hearts and made him feel like the little super hero that he is.
They do all of this with great compassion and understanding. There is always a reassuring smile for me, a quick tickle for Hugo, even after a 12 hour night shift. Nothing has ever been too much trouble.
I feel sad that at some point in the not too distant future, all being well, we will no longer have a reason to see them. They have been our companions on this scary, emotional journey and we will miss them greatly when the time comes to continue on our own. They make me feel safe, but more importantly, they make me feel that Hugo is safe. I know we will never really be on our own, that they are only a phone call away and that they really mean it when they say ‘call anytime’.
These wonderful nurses, together with the equally wonderful doctors here at GOSH, are helping to save Hugo’s life, but they are doing so much in addition to this and I feel a level of gratitude to them that I simply cannot put into words. To say that they are doing an amazing job simply doesn’t do them justice. I feel so sad that we find ourselves here, but this hospital and the staff in it, especially the Giraffe nurses, will forever have a special place in our hearts.
