Cariad Bach

The nurse in charge of intensive care told me that we had had  a lady from the village admitted.
It was a villager I know fairly well.
Before we were allocated to our respective patients, I popped over to her bed space to check on how she was doing.
Intensive care disguises patients well.
It covers patients with tubes and lines and drains and cables.
It masks faces with endotracheal tubes and oxygen masks and through necessity removes personalised clothing for gowns and clean sheets.
From the centre of such a collection came a weak sing song voice
" Hello Cariad Bach " it trilled
" Cariad Bach " is a rather old fashioned term in Welsh.
It literally means " little sweetheart" or " little loved one" 

The nurse in charge, reads Going Gently , I think, for when I got back in line for the allocation , she asked me, in a somewhat theatrical stage whisper " is she one of your old ladies? " 



  

48 comments:

  1. How lovely. I lived in Pembrokeshire for 10 years and got into the habit of saying Nos da cariad at bedtime.

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  2. I hope she will be all right, this old lady of yours. -Jenn

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  3. keep her safe and well, john.

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  4. Best wishes for her recovery.

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  5. Are you allocated to her? hope so..x

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  6. She is in safe hands x

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  7. Priceless! I pray "your" old lady will be fine. xx

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  8. Bless you John....and your old ladies.

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  9. I hope she will soon be back home with some of your tlc John.

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  10. Cariad is such a lovely word. She'll feel better for seeing you.

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  11. We're all your old ladies John. I hope your friend recovers.

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  12. This rather shocked me, as I had assumed everyone in ITU was unconscious, or at least heavily sedated. She must have loved seeing a familiar face.

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    1. Sometimes they are...sometimes they arnt!

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  13. I think waking up or being aware of who everyone is around you in ICU is difficult at best and to see your face must have made her feel good .. perhaps more at ease.
    I hope she gets well and goes home soon.

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  14. If she wasn't one of 'your' old ladies, she is now, John. I hope she gets well and soon.

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  16. awwww I love the "one of your ladies"

    cheers, parsnip

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  17. Not a certain little old lady who we all know, is it ...? Though I know it's just as bad for anyone to be admitted to intensive care, we KNOW her ...

    I'm pretty sure you'll take good care of whoever it is. Intensive care is both scary and comforting. Scary because you have to be in bad shape to be there, but comforting because they usually have the best of the best working there.

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    1. No it wasnt auntie glad

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    2. Thank you for letting us know. Hope your other little lady gets better soon.

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  18. How comforting for her to have a familiar face at such a difficult time. I hope all is well for her very soon.

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  19. It's so easy to recognize kindness.

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  20. How lovely that even seriously unwell she practises warmth and kindness. And how lovely for her to have you there.

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  21. As the nurse in charge talks in theatrical stage whispers, she should be a theatre nurse not ITU.

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  22. She must have been very comforted to see you John. I hope she does well.

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  23. I bet she was so comforted to see your face. Lovely words Cariad Bach. You write so well, it really moved me.

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  24. earlier this year I visited a 103 year old who I have known my whole life. She wasn't hooked up to anything at all but I really struggled to recognise her without teeth or glasses and with her hair messed up. It's truly amazing how much we rely on cues from clothing etc

    I think the thing people love about you is that you seem to make anyone "yours" if they are in need of care

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  26. Sweetness..take of her

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  27. I know you will take good care of her. It must have been so reassuring for her to see you, little sweetheart.

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  28. She must have been pleased to see a familar gentle face. If she is not your patient I know you will have a word with her on each of your shifts

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  29. What a lovely lady!. She must have guessed she was teetering on the edge of life, been scared, but seeing you brought out her normal niceness and normality and I,m sure you reassured and comforted her!.

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  30. Well that is a darling story.

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  31. There is so much restrained emotion in these words. She is clearly loving and loved.

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  32. Do you speak Welsh? It is so comforting to see a familiar face when you are hurting or scared. Chalk up another good deed, "Cariad Bach"!

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    1. No, but i was glad a weksh speaking nurse called rhys was ooking after her, pstients who are critically ill often regress to theur " native " tingue when on itu

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    2. Haha ... have you been drinking or are your fingers just missing all the right keys ;-)

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    3. I am having problems with my spare iPad sue...back on my original nowx

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  33. John I read your blog every day but have never commented before but your entry today has moved me to tears. You are such a kind person and would have loved it had you been a nurse when my mum was in her last days. I come from West Wales but my son is in Uni in Bangor so visit that way quite often. Thank you for your wonderful blog and insight into Welsh life. Diolch am popeth cariad wrth Sue xx

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  34. I hope her stay on itu is a short one and she can be on a normal ward and soon home. xx

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  35. Seriously, when you retire and begin to write your memoirs, I will buy each and every one of them...Cariad Bach!

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  36. I hope your "old lady" fares well . . .

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