A PATIENT at Colchester Hospital has praised the “amazing” nurses who have helped care for her.

Carol Tuscher suffers from both lupus and haemochromatosis – a type of “iron overload”.

As a result, she has to visit the Collingwood Centre at the Turner Road facility every two weeks for treatment.

Lupus is an autoimmune disease which causes afflictions including skin rashes, fever, joint pain and organ damage.

There is currently no cure for Lupus and as such, it requires life-long management.

Meanwhile, haemochromatosis is an inherited condition which causes an individual's iron levels to gradually build up over a number of years.

Some symptoms include pain in the abdomen, pain in the joints or feeling tired and weak.

Carol said: “Every two weeks, I [go to] the cancer unit and have a pint of blood taken in less than a minute. I store iron.

“Certain levels are between 5-50 [mcg/dL] but mine are in the thousands.

“It can cause organ failure and things like that. I’ve got it down to 469, which is good news.”

Since then, Carol has been full of praise for those providing her treatment.

She said: “The nurses are amazing, so courteous, non-stop, going all the time. They just need credit where credit’s due.”

“You get a different nurse each time but they are all as amazing as each other.

“One nurse said she wouldn’t do the strikes because their patients come first. That’s the amazing thing as well.”

Carol went on to describe the nurses as “wonderful human beings” and said they need a pat on the back for their work.

She added: “It must be horrible for them to treat people who are dying. Their compassion and kindness is beautiful.

“They are hard-working, passionate, kind and very caring.

“They make you feel so comfortable, so relaxed. The treatment I have is quite horrific.

“They put a needle the size of a fountain pen in your arm. It’s the way they get the iron out of your blood.

“It’s not like they do it and then say ‘off you go’ – it’s do you want a tea? Are you alright?”