V
317 Words
V"HEY CATHY, DID HE ASK anything different today?" A blond student asked.
"No, Sue, just more of the same."
"Mr. Smith wants to get out of bed today, insisting I let him or bring you to him so he can talk you into it."
I just smiled at her. "I'm sure he'd love to 'talk' with me. With his hands where they shouldn't go. Ever notice that I hold both of his hands when I'm near him?"
"More like I noticed that I need to start doing that myself. He's very personal with his touches. Must be feeling a lot better."
I shook my head, still smiling. "Give him a broom and have him start using his hands to clean up the store room. Just make sure those meds are locked up first. If he's still frisky after that, he can pull some hot water and start mopping. Just not around the other patients where we have to walk. Use some ammonia in it, and he'll be doing us all a favor with the smells in this place."
Sue nodded and moved off.
I picked up the charts and found we had seemed to turn the corner for all of them. I remembered how my teacher, Rochelle, cautioned against optimism that we would be able to save all our patients all the time. "Only faith works miracles..." was her phrase for it. The rest of it was "...and trust in God to fix what humans screw up." A bit sardonic for her, but it got the point across for us, especially now.
That reminded me to check the babies again. That's what really kept us going around here. Some of them would be trying to walk if they were kept here much longer. Already most were into higher-walled beds they couldn't climb over - yet.
Another reason to smile and hope.
Rochelle would be proud of us all - if we were ever allowed to call her...
- Writer
