MND Clinical Nurse Specialist

“I am treated as an individual not as an illness.”

Here, Ian Flatt explains how support from Saint Michael’s MND Clinical Nurse Specialist and hospice colleagues helped him and his family. 

“Kate is a doer, a solution provider, helping us with challenges we didn’t have the knowledge or experience to resolve and within a couple of sessions, she felt like a family friend.

“Help from Kate and Vanessa (Saint Michael’s physiotherapist) means there are no barriers. They help us get over every barrier we’ve come across. There has been a succession of ideas and solutions combined with real care and thoughtfulness.

“The team just know what will make my life easier without me even saying anything. My personality means that not being able to find solutions would be so frustrating and I really admire the way they
have got to really understand my personality. Kate instinctively knows when to push and when to leave me to be stubborn!

“When you hear ‘hospice care’ you immediately assume you are at the end of the journey. But they don’t help you die – they help you live!

“It is easy and perhaps understandable for people to focus on my medical condition, however, Saint Michael’s Hospice has really understood that this is not our priority. The emotional safety and stability of our family is paramount, to this end we feel that Saint Michael’s Hospice and Just ‘B’ have picked us all up and wrapped their arms around us in a collective hug.

“The care is so personalised. It’s always: “What do you need, how can we help?

“I am treated as an individual not as an illness. It’s so special, it’s like having my own personal guardian angel. Things which I thought were an inevitable part of my condition can often be overcome.”