- Email: [email protected]
Another human interest story
Another human interest story
Forgive me if, in this issue, I follow the trend of the media with yet another human interest story This onslaught of tales about suffering and endurance, both in our work and from all quarters of the media - what effect will it have on us, I wonder? Will we eventually become immune to the person and their individual plight? Do we take it all with a pinch of salt? Do we respond by saying ‘There is more to this than meets the eye’ and attempt to dilute it down? The story of John is one of suffering and enduring difficulty against all odds. How he survived such an experience fairly unscathed is perhaps a miracle. It was just another ordinary day. John, a young man, was on his way home from work, pre-occupied with his thoughts. This probably contributed to his carelessness and poor concentration. He ran straight across a busy road near his office, and was hit by a car. There was an air of unreality about the way he flew through the air, but the awful pain in his leg was real enough. As he lay there and felt the pain in his head and leg, and noticed the blood on his hand, he was at a loss as to what to do next. He need not have worried - help was at hand. Someone began to pull under his armpits and a searing pain shot through his leg. John found the obscenities he began to utter quite unbelievable. From people around him, John heard harsh words and disagreement about the best way to care for him. He next remembers the sound of a siren and then being put in some kind of straight jacket and lifted into an ambulance. ‘I will be safe now’ he thought. As he was lifted and wheeled from the ambulance, the movement jarred his leg. ‘This will not go on much longer’ he thought, as he saw bright lights on the ceiling above his head. ‘We have no room available for you at the moment’ the nurse was saying ‘but we will get you in as soon as we can’. John sensed he was in some sort of corridor, with people walking up and down past him. Accident and Emergency Nunmg ( 1995) 3, I-2 0 Pearson Professional Ltd I995
There were some noises he could not make any sense of. One was a frail, plaintive voice repeating ‘Take me home please’. It sounded like an old person, but no-one seemed to be answering her. From behind him came another voice, partly spluttering, coughing and shouting something like ‘Get off me, let me out’. From this area came a strong smell that reminded John he had planned to call in at the pub on his way home. Further sounds like banging metal, then a thud, grunts and groans resulted in a grinning, unshaven face appearing next to John’s, ‘Are you all right Jimmy? ‘the face spat at him. ‘You don’t have a smoke do you?’ ‘No sorry’ John replied ‘will you stop leaning on my legs please’. John was worried about the expression on the man’s face, but then he felt the trolley move and someone said they would ring his wife, and the pain killing injection was very welcome. Relieved that his expensive watch had not been damaged, he was nevertheless anxious that he had been to the bank that day and withdrawn all the money to pay for the holidays. When he mentioned the watch there was a kind of admonition from the nurse ‘your leg is more important that your watch’. For this reason he did not mention the money in his trouser pocket. He wondered what time it was, and whether they had spoken to his wife. Phones were ringing, people talking unintelligibly, lots of requests being made. ‘Get me orthopaedics’, have paeds answered yet?‘, ‘does his wife know how serious it is?‘. Did someone say something about a coroner? ‘Who are they talking about?‘, he wondered. When he felt the trolley move again he was not sure if he had been asleep or for how long. ‘What time is it? ‘ he asked the porter who had said something about X-ray. John thought he said seven o’clock, though that could not be right. Now he was in another sea of faces and trolleys. ‘They will call you when they get to you’ a voice was saying and its owner walked away. ‘What if I don’t hear them?’ John wondered. He could understand why the woman was crying - she was sitting there quietly, partly covering a swollen eye, when a man suddenly ran in, grabbed her and demanded ‘What have you been saying?‘John knew she had not uttered a sound. What was this man playing at, threatening her and starting to drag her away? John was indignant. ‘Don’t treat her like that’ he said, and suddenly a hand was pulling his head back by his hair. Then all hell broke loose and the hand let go. He heard the word SECURITY, more shrieks and expletives and thuds. Men in uniforms appeared, there was more noise and then it was quiet again.
2 Accident
and Emergency
Nursing
John was grateful to the young man who explained he was now safe. Like John, the young man was waiting to be X-rayed. He related how he had hurt his hand the night before, but only really felt any pain at lunch time today. The pain was returning to John’s leg. The young man offered him something for it. How kind. But John could not understand why he was asking him to pay for it. Before he could begin to work that out it was time for John’s X-ray. Why did the radiographer look so suspiciously at that chap? He was quite pleasant really. Tucked up clean and comfortable in bed, and with his wife at his side, John felt better. As he recounted his experiences she laughed and reminded him of how he often exaggerated things. He had not the guts to tell her he must
have lost the holiday money when the car hit him. Yes, another human interest story Well, you might say he has had a bang on the head. A little confused, disorientated maybe? People in pain do get things distorted. In this kind of situation it is so easy to lose a sense of reality Despite the odds against, John survived his ordeal. Perhaps a little disillusioned about his fellow human beings, but able to laugh about it. How safe are our patients from the rich tapestry of life in our departments? Are we becoming all too familiar and comfortable with these little human interest stories?
Bob
Wright,
Editor
Forgive me if, in this issue, I follow the trend of the media with yet another human interest story This onslaught of tales about suffering and endurance, both in our work and from all quarters of the media - what effect will it have on us, I wonder? Will we eventually become immune to the person and their individual plight? Do we take it all with a pinch of salt? Do we respond by saying ‘There is more to this than meets the eye’ and attempt to dilute it down? The story of John is one of suffering and enduring difficulty against all odds. How he survived such an experience fairly unscathed is perhaps a miracle. It was just another ordinary day. John, a young man, was on his way home from work, pre-occupied with his thoughts. This probably contributed to his carelessness and poor concentration. He ran straight across a busy road near his office, and was hit by a car. There was an air of unreality about the way he flew through the air, but the awful pain in his leg was real enough. As he lay there and felt the pain in his head and leg, and noticed the blood on his hand, he was at a loss as to what to do next. He need not have worried - help was at hand. Someone began to pull under his armpits and a searing pain shot through his leg. John found the obscenities he began to utter quite unbelievable. From people around him, John heard harsh words and disagreement about the best way to care for him. He next remembers the sound of a siren and then being put in some kind of straight jacket and lifted into an ambulance. ‘I will be safe now’ he thought. As he was lifted and wheeled from the ambulance, the movement jarred his leg. ‘This will not go on much longer’ he thought, as he saw bright lights on the ceiling above his head. ‘We have no room available for you at the moment’ the nurse was saying ‘but we will get you in as soon as we can’. John sensed he was in some sort of corridor, with people walking up and down past him. Accident and Emergency Nunmg ( 1995) 3, I-2 0 Pearson Professional Ltd I995
There were some noises he could not make any sense of. One was a frail, plaintive voice repeating ‘Take me home please’. It sounded like an old person, but no-one seemed to be answering her. From behind him came another voice, partly spluttering, coughing and shouting something like ‘Get off me, let me out’. From this area came a strong smell that reminded John he had planned to call in at the pub on his way home. Further sounds like banging metal, then a thud, grunts and groans resulted in a grinning, unshaven face appearing next to John’s, ‘Are you all right Jimmy? ‘the face spat at him. ‘You don’t have a smoke do you?’ ‘No sorry’ John replied ‘will you stop leaning on my legs please’. John was worried about the expression on the man’s face, but then he felt the trolley move and someone said they would ring his wife, and the pain killing injection was very welcome. Relieved that his expensive watch had not been damaged, he was nevertheless anxious that he had been to the bank that day and withdrawn all the money to pay for the holidays. When he mentioned the watch there was a kind of admonition from the nurse ‘your leg is more important that your watch’. For this reason he did not mention the money in his trouser pocket. He wondered what time it was, and whether they had spoken to his wife. Phones were ringing, people talking unintelligibly, lots of requests being made. ‘Get me orthopaedics’, have paeds answered yet?‘, ‘does his wife know how serious it is?‘. Did someone say something about a coroner? ‘Who are they talking about?‘, he wondered. When he felt the trolley move again he was not sure if he had been asleep or for how long. ‘What time is it? ‘ he asked the porter who had said something about X-ray. John thought he said seven o’clock, though that could not be right. Now he was in another sea of faces and trolleys. ‘They will call you when they get to you’ a voice was saying and its owner walked away. ‘What if I don’t hear them?’ John wondered. He could understand why the woman was crying - she was sitting there quietly, partly covering a swollen eye, when a man suddenly ran in, grabbed her and demanded ‘What have you been saying?‘John knew she had not uttered a sound. What was this man playing at, threatening her and starting to drag her away? John was indignant. ‘Don’t treat her like that’ he said, and suddenly a hand was pulling his head back by his hair. Then all hell broke loose and the hand let go. He heard the word SECURITY, more shrieks and expletives and thuds. Men in uniforms appeared, there was more noise and then it was quiet again.
2 Accident
and Emergency
Nursing
John was grateful to the young man who explained he was now safe. Like John, the young man was waiting to be X-rayed. He related how he had hurt his hand the night before, but only really felt any pain at lunch time today. The pain was returning to John’s leg. The young man offered him something for it. How kind. But John could not understand why he was asking him to pay for it. Before he could begin to work that out it was time for John’s X-ray. Why did the radiographer look so suspiciously at that chap? He was quite pleasant really. Tucked up clean and comfortable in bed, and with his wife at his side, John felt better. As he recounted his experiences she laughed and reminded him of how he often exaggerated things. He had not the guts to tell her he must
have lost the holiday money when the car hit him. Yes, another human interest story Well, you might say he has had a bang on the head. A little confused, disorientated maybe? People in pain do get things distorted. In this kind of situation it is so easy to lose a sense of reality Despite the odds against, John survived his ordeal. Perhaps a little disillusioned about his fellow human beings, but able to laugh about it. How safe are our patients from the rich tapestry of life in our departments? Are we becoming all too familiar and comfortable with these little human interest stories?
Bob
Wright,
Editor