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Helen Morris: Wheatfields nurse exports her caring expertise
Doctors in Albania are planning to build a specialist clinic after a Headingley nurse visited the country to treat patients with a painful disease.
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Helen Morris, 45, who works at Wheatfields Hospice in Headingley, was one of the first nurses to treat Albanian patients with lymphoedema, which is often a side-effect of lymph cancers and causes swelling of the arms and legs.
After her visit to the Ryder Albania Hospice in Tirana, senior doctors now plan to send an Albanian nurse to Europe to train as a lymphoedema specialist.
The nurse even made a presentation in front of an entire medical team after a request by Albania's head of breast care, who wanted to know more about the treatment.
Mrs Morris, who visited Albania with Wheatfields' complementary therapist Pam Colley, said: "There is no information on how to prevent lymphoedema, how to recognise it in the early stages or any treatment offered. I did the talk to the whole hospital team. The PowerPoint presentation didn't work so the surgeon said 'Stand up and do the talk and I'll translate.'
"He has since decided that his team needs a nurse to be educated as a lymphoedema nurse so that she can establish a clinic."
Because Mrs Morris had to take her own bandages and lotions to Albania for the two-week stay, she had to negotiate with airport staff to check in her bags, which were over the maximum weight.
But once she arrived at Ryder Albania, which is twinned with Sue Ryder Care Wheatfields, she realised just how important her visit was to so many people. One woman made a daily eight-hour round trip train journey to see her.
She said: "At first I wasn't sure she was happy with what we were showing her, but as we progressed she felt more confident and started to ask questions. I found it very tiring talking to staff and patients through a translator while implementing care.
"The whole experience was very fulfilling. I'm delighted to think I may have played a small part in taking the benefits of lymphoedema nursing to a part of the world where it wasn't previously available."
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