I am an autistic adult and recently spent almost a week in ICU at KGH. I am normally very scared of hospitals and will do anything I can to avoid going to one. However, that wasn't an option this time. I didn't really get a choice. This was probably the best experience I have ever had at any hospital. This was my first time staying at KGH as well and I was very impressed.
 
Firstly, I would like to tell you how good the staff were. I don't remember going to ICU, because I was intubated. The first thing I remember is waking up there on Friday late morning/early afternoon. When I woke up, someone had already put my ear defenders on me and my cuddly guinea pig was by my side. That's amazing. The staff on the ward must have done that. It helped a lot, because I was so scared, confused, and overwhelmed when I woke up. The last thing I remembered was it being Thursday morning. Somehow, a whole day had passed, and I was in a new place with a lot of strangers around my bed. I also still had the tube down my throat and the thing keeping my mouth open, so it made me panic, but everyone was so nice. They explained that they had to see me breathe for myself for a few minutes before they could remove the tube. It was a terrifying experience, but they helped to keep me calm and were very patient with me. 

When I woke up, I also found that someone had put my hair in a plait at some point to stop it getting matted or in the way. That was kind of them. A lot of the staff had clearly read my Autism Hospital Passport as well. That has never happened before. Usually, I have to take it with me and show people, or my support worker tells them about it, but I wasn't awake and nobody was with me, so the ward staff must have found it themselves. 

There was a nurse on the ward called Claire. She was in charge some days, and she was brilliant. She helped when I got overwhelmed and overstimulated. She calmed me down and always explained what was happening. She also came to help me when I was trying to get to the toilet a few days later, but couldn't find it, and my legs felt like they weren't working. She wasn't even my assigned nurse on that day, but she came from somewhere and tried to help. She had very good knowledge of autism and sensory issues. She made sure that the other staff knew how to help me as well. 

Another nurse, called Lauren, was also brilliant and seemed to understand a lot about autism, too. She was especially patient and helped me a lot. Woody was an HCA who helped me a lot, too. She was always very understanding and patient. She made me laugh and works very hard. Jack and Jodie, who worked at night, were amazing as well. I always find nights more difficult in the hospital, especially when I can't sleep, but they helped me to feel safe and reminded me how to call them if I needed to. Both of them spent a long time talking to me and showing me photos of their pets. That helped a lot. Jack also told me exactly what time he would be coming during the night to check my blood pressure etc and he always stuck to that time. He pulled my curtains across to reduce the sensory input on my last night there as well. I was very grateful for that.

I was also especially grateful for Chloe, Kate, Sharon, Laura, Nicky and Lorraine. Some of them showed me photos of their pets too. I liked that a lot. It helped me to feel less scared and to get to know them. The admin lady was also very nice to me and the cleaning lady (Jill) came to talk to me a few times. She got some tissues for me when I got a bit messy from the ice cream too. Everyone seemed to go above and beyond their job role.

One of the worst things about being in a general hospital is usually the ward round. I am normally quite scared of the doctors. I often find that I can't understand what they are telling me or feel like they're not listening to me. However, all of the doctors in ICU were fantastic.  The junior doctors were lovely as well.  Everyone treated me with so much care and compassion.
There are two consultants who were especially good.  One was called Dan, and the other one was a lady who had two guinea pigs (one of the guinea pigs was called Pippin, but I forgot her name).

Dr Dan was great.  He came over to talk to me a few times and explained what would happen in my ward round.  He also told me when it would be him doing my ward round.  He let me know when there would be a lot of people and tried to keep it short for me, because  they were very overwhelming.  He was incredibly kind and clearly cares a lot about his patients.  He explained that he looked after me while I was intubated too.  He let me put my own clothes on.

The doctor with the guinea pigs was so nice, too.  She even came back later to show me some more photos of them.  She was the person who agreed that I could go home and I didn't have to wait until I was stepped down to a normal medical ward.  She could see how hard I was finding it in the hospital and understood that I just wanted to go home.  I was medically stable at that point, too.

Communication is something that I find tricky at the best of times, but it was even more difficult in the ICU, because I didn't really have a voice for the first few days.  The staff still managed to communicate with me, though, and made sure I understood what was happening.  They treated me with so much dignity and respect, even when they had to wash me, clean me up, turn me, and help me with my catheter.  They always showed me their name badges too, so I could see who they were.  That was super helpful, because I have prosopagnosia.  They must have learnt that from my hospital passport too.

Finally, I just wanted to mention two things on the ward that really helped me as well.  The first one was having a digital clock in front of each bed.  It is kind of on the ceiling.  I can't read an analogue clock, so this was especially helpful.  It also made a big difference, because I couldn't wear my watch and didn't have my phone to begin with either.  It meant that I never had to ask anyone what time it was and always knew.

The other thing I really liked was the little signs in front of each bed.  They tell you which day it is, which nurse is looking after you, and what the plan is for the day ahead.  I was so pleasantly surprised.  It meant that I knew what would happen each day. For example, on one day, my board said that I was being mobilised that day, on another day, it explained that I was waiting for a bed on a normal ward.