The Student Nurse Named Katie.
So I was admitted to hospital the day
after my dissertation was given in. The stress of that, hormones in
general, a nasty run in with someone I am now calling Voldemort and
the two more coming essays that are due in on the 1st of
June all mixed in with the unhealthy dose of M.E. and I was off on
that crazy mental seizure train that has landed me in hospital. My
speech is just coming after 24 hours, my swallowing reflex leaves a
lot to be desired (doctors are already mentioning the NG tube! Pulls
massive face), and theres no change to my paralysis... Joy oh
freaking Joy.
So I wake up this morning at 7am
having got to the ward at 3am, lovely lady 3 beds down has dementia
bless her, so I didn't get much sleep even with the seizure meds that
could have taken out a horse, so i've basically slept all day. But a
face kept appearing everytime I could pry my eyes open.
A student nurse by the name of Katie.
It was her first day today and she has been put through the ringer
from what I can gather around the massive amounts of seizure drugs
they're still pumping into me and the general M.E. brain fog. To
behonest this is the first time i've generally been coherent.... for
about 48 hours haha.
So I had another seizure this
afternoon, my mum had come during visiting hour and I just knew I was
brewing for a good one, one lot of drugs was already being put
through an I.V and they gave me another lot to stop it and there she
was. Katie, the student nurse of her first day, and she apparently
sat there and stroked my hand through it all. Mother says I scared
the crap out of her, she'd never seen a seizure like mine before. But
she has been a champ.
I woke up and there was Katie, making
sure I was okay, so sure of herself and her abilities, but something
in her eyes showed that worry that I wasn't alright and she didn't
know what to do to make it better. She will make one of the finest
nurses of her class I am sure.
I can go on and on about how bad the
NHS has gotten, the care that people receive is just so below par,
the recent Panarama about care homes and all the horror stories that
we've all heard. I could go on about the lack of government funding,
the lack of compassion and the lack of basic human feeling that is
being seen on a daily basis. But one thing I am reminded of is that
within the bunch that are so run off their feet, so under paid and
under appreciated, there will always be a Katie. Someone so bursting
with energy and compassion and so willing to help in anyway they can,
that they brighten your day.
I had my Katie today, and I hope that
everyone else gets their Katie as well, because it inspires the hope
that not everyone is lost in the blur and darkness and downtrodden
horridness that hospitals and treatment has become; that there is
someone out there who is willing to learn and experience your
illnesses with you and make it better for the next person to come
along with the same.
I hope that through my hospital stay,
and the indignity of having my Katie see me through a seizure that is
not classed as a normal seizure, that she will and can go on and
treat another with compassion and understanding. And I have every
faith that she will. Because she has that spark, and I hope and pray
that it never goes out. For her sake and for ours.
