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| Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash |
Wie geht's?
Recently, we spent a day/night in the E.D. and an observation ward at Palmerston North hospital, while Jacky received treatment for Influenza A. in the bed next to her was an elderly dementia patient who was treated with impressive respect and compassion by the nurses and doctors. They were remarkably kind and patient, even when he failed to communicate with them.
However, another patient in the ward was not so compassionate or tolerant. She loudly complained, made jokes and loudly huffed and puffed.
Yes, his continual loud exhortations of 'help' and his regressions to childhood (he referred to 'mummy' a few times) were testing. It was hard to hear him often say, "I'm going to die" amongst other things, but there for the grace of God go all of us.
I couldn't help thinking about his life. There was no one with him, either from his family or the rest home that he'd come from, but he must have had a life, right? Maybe a wife, maybe children. He wasn't always like this.
I also wondered about his what-next. We left the ward and came home, but what's next for him? My heart went out to him, and I was ashamed of the response from that other patient. When she tried to enlist me in her shenanigans, I just said that I felt for the poor guy. At that, she turned around and walked away.
Love and peace - Wozza
