Patient stories

Helping Mrs V to fight an infection

Mrs V, 66, had been taking antibiotics for the last two and a half years after she developed an infection in her knee replacement. When doctors tried to remove the artificial joint in November 2010, they were unable to dislodge it because they are designed to last for ten years.

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Enabling Mrs B to recover at home after surgery

Being cared for at home after major surgery meant that Mrs B could recover without being separated from her husband and four-year-old son for a long period. Normally patients who undergo joint replacement surgery are in hospital for many days, but Mrs B, a wife and mum-of-one, was out in a matter of days following her last two procedures.

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Helping Mr C to recover at home after encephalitis

When Mr C began to overheat on the way back from a football match, he put it down to 'just a fever.' Little did he know, that the next day he would be rushed to hospital fighting for his life. The 25-year-old graphic designer from Hampton was suffering from viral encephalitis, which causes inflammation in the brain, often with fatal results.

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Getting Miss A home to recover after cancer operations

When Miss A found a lump in her breast in March 2010 her GP told her it was nothing to worry about. But when she had it checked out seven months later, after finding a lump in her other breast, she was told that the first lump was cancerous. Miss A, who lives with her partner in Brentford, said: "The diagnosis came the day after I got back from a two week trip to Kenya. My holiday was soon forgotten.

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Giving Ms R respite at home between hospital visits

Ms R, 68, spent much of 2010 in hospital after developing problems with her hip replacement. Unfortunately, a month after undergoing surgery to fit the artificial joint, it became dislocated. Each time she had an operation to put it back in place, it moved again, eventually leading to infection.

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