When the Pathway team met Sue, she was adamant that she wasn’t staying in hospital, despite a chronic leg ulcer and bleeding duodenal ulcer. At age 33, she had a severe alcohol and heroin dependency, was injecting into her groin, and had frequent emergency hospital admissions, but each time she discharged herself.
The Pathway nurse asked Sue what she would like her life to be like, if there were no barriers. Sue said that she couldn’t cope alone in England any more, and just wanted to go home to her family. The nurse agreed to try and make this happen whilst she was in hospital.
Sue stayed in hospital, stabilising on methadone, completing alcohol detoxification and seeing improvements in her leg ulcer. The Pathway team located Sue’s family, and identified a means of funding the move home. They liaised with local drug treatment agencies and arranged for Sue’s GP to transfer her methadone script.
After a mammoth journey, Sue arrived home. She is well supported by her family, remains drug and alcohol free, and has started visiting a dentist to get her smile restored.