The Sydney Children's Hospital in Randwick and Westmead Children's Hospital are two places Stanwell Park teenager Rebecca Robinson knows well.
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Born with a rare genetic kidney condition, the 19-year-old has spent a lot of time at both hospitals receiving care over the span of her life.
But she has now bid farewell to them and moved into adult health care services at the Royal Prince Alfred, a transition that will be marked on Friday with a patient graduation ceremony.
These biannual ceremonies give not only long-term patients who are moving to adult health care services, but also their families and hospital staff, the opportunity to say goodbye after years of care.
Miss Robinson said it was a "bittersweet" milestone: she was sad to leave her long-term doctors but she was very happy to move to the adult hospital.
"I do not miss sitting in a waiting room as an 18-year-old, surrounded by 18-month-olds crying," she said with a laugh.
Miss Robinson has been receiving treatment for her condition her whole life, and in 2016 her health deteriorated to the point that she was put on dialysis for two months - one month of which she spent in hospital.
The following year, aged 15, she underwent a 14-hour kidney and liver transplant.
That meant daily check-ups at first, but they gradually became less frequent and now she travels to Sydney every six to eight weeks.
"It's gotten a lot better," Miss Robinson said.
The specialist who oversaw her treatment in the children's system was paediatric nephrologist Dr Hugh McCarthy.
Miss Robinson said he talked her through everything during appointments and spoke to her in a way that was appropriate for her age, whether it was when she was five or when she was 18.
"He would always look at me as a person, and not just another patient," she said.
She also has kind words for the nurses that looked after her throughout her stays.
She recalled waking up in the intensive care unit with her hair braided.
"[It is] the small things that make your day," Miss Robinson said.
She said the nurses were also highly knowledgeable and well-versed on everything about her care, and they ensured it was "top notch".
Miss Robinson is now looking at becoming a nurse herself, having finished her HSC just this week.
"I've been exposed to how valuable they are," she said.
Working as a renal nurse would be "fascinating", she said, and working in intensive care had appeal, but midwifery could also be on the cards in her future.
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