Yahoo News Mum gives 'hugest thank you' to team at Sunderland Royal with special artwork for looking after her son
A Sunderland mum drew a very special picture to thank the "absolute treasure" of an anaesthetist and his colleagues who helped keep her autistic five-year-old calm during his first ever general anaesthetic at Sunderland Royal Hospital.
Peter Graham, five, has cerebral palsy and autism and was very apprehensive about the routine procedure, because it involved him being anaesthetised. But consultant anaesthetist Will Green kept Peter entertained by playing an episode of hit kids TV show Hey Duggee and even singing along while he put Peter under.
Mum Hannah Graham - an illustrator - also drew Will's face on a rubber glove as they worked to distract Peter. She has now incorporated all of these elements into a picture featuring those present during Peter's procedure as a special thank you.
Hannah said: "As an illustrator, thought it would be the best way to show how much we appreciated what they did to help Peter. He was cared for in the hospital’s Neonatal Unit when he was born, so I used to draw to keep busy when he was very little.
“This was my way of saying the hugest thank you for the incredible experience we had. Peter has autism and cerebral palsy and to have a team that were a head of the game and brilliant made our journey so smooth.
“As part of it, I wanted to show anaesthetist Will - what an absolute treasure. He made so many proactive steps and showed sincere care and made reasonable adjustments to help Peter. F63 are such an attentive and happy team, they were all brilliant. They put on disco lights and then there’s the clickety-clack of the train in the Hey Duggee episode, so they’re in there too."
Will said: "We were all lost for words when we saw the picture, it was rather emotional. I have a little boy called Henry, and enjoy Star Wars, superheroes and Lego, which is all very helpful for my work in paediatrics.
"I think the illustration is absolutely beautiful and we are all very touched that Hannah used her time and immense talent to give us some truly unique feedback. What I think Hannah captured was how the team comes together around a person, with the shared aim of not just providing excellent medical care, but creating an individual and positive experience.
“When I think of Peter’s train ride with us, it started weeks ago with the surgical team, then to pre-assessment, the ward on the day and to us in theatre. Each stop along the way is an opportunity to get to know some better, identify potential challenges and come up with solutions. The end result is we create a unique experience tailored for each patient."
He said he was part of a "wonderful team" - along with colleagues including Deb Hollins, Kelly Pearce, Ling Lee, Neil Gayares, Reny Chacko and Ann Mallam who helped to look after Peter. He added he was proud of what they were able to do for the community.
Will, who started as a consultant at the South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Trust recently works across a range of adult and children's services. He added that he hoped that anyone seeing the picture Hannah had created would see that coming for surgery could be a "happy and exciting experience". He said Peter had been "good as gold" - adding: "We did for Peter what we try and do for all our patients, which is adjust what we do depending on what the person in front of us needs.
“Come to F floor theatres and we’ve had bubbles, disco lights, nursery rhymes, even a rave and a rap, it just depends on what makes the individual most comfortable. The team is very on board with creating a positive environment from pre-assessment to theatre and everywhere in STSFT I see staff making the small changes that make a big difference to our patients."
