Bacardi Girl

Once they got the results back from the CT, I was moved to the Majors Unit… where each cubicle is enclosed in blue curtains. Since arriving at A & E I was on an ambulance trolley bed. Oh boy, are they uncomfortable! Within seconds of laying on one of those things, your bum goes numb. Well in fact, I would say it actually needs resuscitation, cos it takes ages to come around when you eventually are able to move.

I was hooked up to drips, for fluids, painkillers and having anti-biotics shot into me at every given chance. Eventually, I told my two to go home… If it wasn’t bad enough having to lay on this gurney, having them fuss and keep asking questions was more than I could handle. So, I sent them packing. Looking back, I must have sounded so ungrateful… but I wanted time on my own, time to think, time to adjust to what was happening.

But how can you think, when you ass, is numb and you just want the comfort of your own bed. I must have been laying on this thing for hours, when all of a sudden, they appeared with a proper hospital bed. The doctors were fantastic, and the nurses couldn’t do enough for me. Nothing was too much for them. Being in Majors from just after 1pm on Sunday until the following day at 9.30 pm the next evening was enlightening.

If you expect to sleep… forget it. Machines are bleeping, some patients are rowdy and some simply have no concern for others, by playing movies on their mobiles at full volume. That night was enlightening, to what the A & E staff have to put up with. They don’t stop… running here, running there, sorting this patient out, doing observations, changing drips etc. I tried not to disturb them as they were so busy.. but bathroom visits were not going to wait. So I had to be unhooked for the drip and set loose to the loo.

On that Sunday night, one patient keep shouting they wanted to go home, and kept phoning her family at all hours begging them to collect her… Eventually the only way out for the staff was to sedate her. Which came like a breath of fresh air, for those of us trying to get some sleep.

Then it started… Mr Mobile Phone at Full Volume, decided to watch movies, play his games and you could hear the adverts ringing out that he was on course for millions.

The ambulance drivers that bought me in… were two lovely ladies from Essex. And during their busy shift they found time to find me and ask how I was doing.

Morning came with no sleep, and the appearance of hubby and son. Now to get to the gory bit. My veins are so small and like spaghetti, that they have a trouble getting blood and putting cannulas in. The two I had in my arms, had blown, and needed replacing. So, it was a case of stab in the dark to get the cannula in.

They need blood from me, and the doctor tried every vein going. Eventually, she found one that was giving a little blood and kept having to move the needle to get more. All I could hear, was ‘Sharp Scratch’. In fact, I likened this saying to Chris Whitty’s ‘Next Slide Please’ during covid. Where I wanted to smash every slide going. 😀 😀 😀

I was black and blue, bruised from head to toe… and felt like a pin cushion. Monday passed with more fluids and no beds on the hospital wards at all. There were some beds in surgical, but I was under medical.

Throughout the day and evening… more fluids, more bloods taken, and then they got the call that there was now a bed on Lister Ward which was the Assessment Unit Ward. As I left Majors heading towards the ward, the corridors were full of beds… people waiting to get seen, people waiting for a bed, and of course Mr Mobile Phone was now serenading corridor patients with his mobile phone.

Finally, I arrived at Lister. I had to wait in the corridor whilst they moved a patient to another ward, but eventually I was settled in and feel fast asleep. That was until they kept taking observations, changing the drips, putting in this liquid and that liquid. And then it happened again… My vein blew… so it was another game of finding a vein for the next cannula.

Nothing was too much for those nurses and doctors on Lister Ward, they offered me coffee, something to eat, and took great care of me. This is what makes our NHS worth saving… and what makes those nurses and doctors the best and worthy of any pay increase they wish.

Throughout my day on Majors and up until I went to Lister, Doctors were visiting me and making sure I understood what was wrong, what was going to happen and how they were going to treat me. They couldn’t do enough for me. Yes, there were times when I didn’t see a nurse for a while in Majors, but it wasn’t because they were doing nothing, it was purely because they were run off of their feet.

Twenty-Four years ago, I had a very bad experience with Medway Hospital… and vowed never to be put in there again… but my fear was now proven unfounded. They were caring, compassionate, understanding and dedicated to serving patients and giving you the best care, they could give. I have nothing but gratitude to all those Doctors and Nurses on Majors and Rapid Treatment and now I found that this was resonate throughout the hospital, this care carried on through my care at Lister Ward.

To all the staff at Medway…. All I can say is from the bottom of my heart… Thank you xx