Patient writes song to thank hospital stroke team
BBCNormally, when you are discharged from hospital, you might thank the hardworking team with a box of biscuits or a card. But not Mike Tetley.
He decided to write a song to show his appreciation for the staff who helped nurse him back to health after he was admitted to the Acute Stroke Unit at the Royal Berkshire Hospital.
"For a couple of days I didn't know whether I was going to be here the next day," he said. "The care and compassion that I got from everyone around me was indescribable."
After further tests Mike, from Reading, was given the all-clear and discharged.
He was found to have reversible cerebral vasoconstriction syndrome (RCVS), a condition that can cause thunderclap headaches.
It was after returning home that he decided to do something extra to thank the staff who cared for him.
"The problem with cards they get lost, and […] with biscuits, they are all gone," Mike said.
So he wrote a song, called The Hand That Held Me, which he unveiled on hospital radio as a way of saying thank you.
Mike said of the compassion and treatment he received, "you couldn't wish for anything better".
And he said the team's bedside manner was just as important as the medication and treatment he received.
"That bit of compassion can go a long way," he said.
"You've got your drugs and everything else, but they are happy to just talk or hold your hand if you need it."
The gesture touched the whole team, including Shivanthi Panchalingam, ward manager of the Acute Stroke Unit.
"As nurses, we don't realise how much of an impact we make on patients. This is just what we do as part of our job," she said.
"It was incredibly humbling to hear Mike's song and actually realise the impact that we had on him and on our patients every day."
Dr Kiruba Nagaratnam also remembered Mike's time on the ward. After hearing the song, he said it reaffirmed why he chose to work as a consultant.
He added: "We have good days and bad days […] and his song reminded us that we are all here [for] our patients."
Tetley said that the core reason why he wrote his song was: "They all need thanking, and I see, it very rarely happens but I'm glad that it touched so many people because it is a thank you from me."
