IV Therapy Clinic

John Camara at the IV Therapy Clinic

John Camara was only 13 years old when he was diagnosed with Crohn's disease. Since 1990, John has had four surgeries and over four-and-a-half feet of his bowel removed, not to mention the regular emergency room visits followed by lengthy two-week hospital stays every few months.

However, his treatment plan changed when London Health Sciences Centre's (LHSC) IV Therapy Clinic first opened its doors ten years ago. Since 2000, John has been receiving three-hour infusions twice a month, and the 39-year-old father of four is grateful to LHSC's staff for allowing him to enjoy his family and maintain a high quality of life. "The nurses in the IV Therapy Clinic are excellent," John says. "If you look at my hospital stays over the last nine years, you'll see that my stays have decreased because of coming here." His bi-monthly sessions provide the other major advantage - minimizing his time away from work with no intrusion on his day-to-day family activities.

But John gets most emotional and teary-eyed when he talks about his children. "My oldest says having dad away from home for two weeks at a time is harder to deal with than coming here for three hours twice a month." Without the IV Therapy Clinic, John would have no alternative but to return to the emergency department where he would once again be faced with an extended hospital stay.

"The majority of the time, you come out of the IV Therapy Clinic with your head held high and feeling pretty good," he says. "It provides a great service for people dealing with a variety of health issues that require professional care, and a better alternative than what the other options are."

For John, the biggest benefits of the IV Therapy Clinic are staying out of the hospital and connecting with other patients. "In the clinic everybody is there for each other," he says. "It's almost like a group therapy session in one sense and this atmosphere really helps the healing process." John regularly connects with other patients in the clinic, and recalls speaking with a teenager newly diagnosed with Crohn's disease. John was able to share his experiences and give the young boy hope that he would be able to lead a normal life with the help offered through the clinic.

"The IV Therapy Clinic is changing lives," John says. "The clinic has enhanced my quality of life and will continue to do so for myself, and for others, for years to come."

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