It was a huge change from the rough and tumble of caring for a personality disordered, confused and violent post op patient or an over stimulated autistic boy with a new tracheostomy.
Ventilated patients with all of the pumps and gizmo's that go with the seriously ill have to be nursed with strict orderliness and discipline.
It was nice to be so disciplined ..it was all very Zen.
It's not like that at home at the moment.
I'm in the middle of decorating , and the front room looks likes a bombs hit it, what with furniture piled high in the centre of the room.
The Prof had left the dogs have the run of the house when he left for work earlier and Mary had emptied the airing cupboard of its contents, scattering linens across the landing
Oh and I noticed that old William had backing into my one freshly painted wall by the stairs and had left a sloppy turd out in full view after being home but a couple of minutes
I left everything where it lay, filled my American coffee cup with blissfully hot strong coffee and took myself off to the field which was bathed in warm, early morning sunshine.
There , in full view of the road, I lay down amid the sheep, hens and geese and just gazed up at the clouds in the soft blue sky.
There is No mess and disorder in skywatching.
Faced with all that, I would probably have done the same. Sky watching is very therapeutic, good for body and soul. Won't be doing any here though as it's grey and drizzly.
ReplyDeleteWe didn't have sloppy turds in full view, but we did have a hairy newel post where our bearded collie had leaned against fresh paint!
ReplyDeleteI'm spending today staining a new fence, 105 feet of it! I think it may be a long, long, long job! X
A down under comment ... " Good on ya mate " I think you may agree that this is not a sucking up to your blog comment.
ReplyDeletejeeze, what a morning! I don't envy you.
ReplyDeleteChaos is just misunderstood order, or is order just unrecognized chaos? It has been too long since I have laid down in a field and gazed at the sky.
ReplyDeleteI fell over in the park this morning so I was sky watching in a completely different way.
ReplyDeletemore water with it :-)
DeleteGood lord. You have the patience of Job. I'm glad you have a spot to re-charge it.
ReplyDeleteI love to do that in the early summer - lie on my back on the lawn and look up at the sky but this summer there were fewer swallows than ever before.
ReplyDeleteOne swallow doesnt make a summer x
DeleteI've just spent a month visiting my sedated and ventilated mum-in-law recovering from heart surgery in Oxford. I don't have enough words to convey the kindness, care and dignity she and we were shown during this time. Thank you for the job you do John x
ReplyDeleteThat sounds to me like the most Perfect thing to do ... let it be chaotic around you but where you are ... is Still. perfecto :)
ReplyDeleteI thought you had gone for a crap in the field as it seemed the natural follow on after the William find
ReplyDeleteOh dear, what happened to the clock?
ReplyDeleteI just took the case lid off, irs fine
DeleteI have huge respect for nursing staff. Well done.
ReplyDeleteLove your long-case. I have a similar (but simpler) one that was made for my family in 1735.
Renovating or redecorating has to be one of the most stressful activities possible. I'm sure the dogs are stressed too!
ReplyDeleteA little order can be soothing...but....not nearly as much fun as chaos.
ReplyDeleteYou are wise.
ReplyDeleteI had to read your patient descriptions a couple of times to let the gravity of the tasks sink in...you forget not all patients are calm and compliant and accepting of the nursing they need to receive.
ReplyDeleteSorry for the shop talk, but what kind of vent. does your hospital use? I saw Hamilton's when I was giving a talk in Kent some years back...
ReplyDeleteCheers,
Mike
https://www.hamilton-medical.com/en_GB/About-us/News/News-Detail~2016-04-06~GALILEO-trade-in-promotion~77cd7e47-74b8-4ce1-9004-ea5333cf1579~.html
DeleteNo clouds to gaze at here today, just blue sky. No grass either - it's turned into brown dust. I don't feel comfortable with disorder and noise although I quite enjoy the process of transforming a mess into order and calm.
ReplyDeleteWhen is someone going to make a film of your life? And who'd play you and The Prof?
ReplyDeleteJean
Hugh bonnieville from downton will play the Prof
DeleteRussel crowe ...me
I would pay expensively to see Hugh snog Russell in the wedding scene!
DeleteI would pay expensively to see Hugh snog Russell in the wedding scene!
DeleteI hope you get more time to be more zen. :)
ReplyDeleteSometimes, it's a good thing to ignore the nuttiness for a while. Of course, one can't ignore forever, lol.
ReplyDeleteMy family are slightly amazed I can function as a nurse as I tend to let things slide at home. I'd go nuts if I didn't. I hope we see a before and after paint job-I'd like to see more of your cottage regardless.
ReplyDeleteAround here, if you lie down in the grass you become fodder for the fire ants right quick.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the work you do caring for patients. Nurses are often the unsung heroes, in my opinion.
I have a doctorate in ignoring mess and chaos, but the scattered linens and the poo on the freshly painted wall would have sent me outside as well, with perhaps something stronger than coffee, even though I'm not a drinker. "Some days are diamonds; some days are stones." Courtesy of John Denver.
ReplyDeleteOh, and some days are blog fodder.
ReplyDeleteI think I will try the coffee in the pasture with the horses and blue sky (when it returns). That sounds lovely.
ReplyDeleteIt was!
DeleteAfter my husband died and I thought I would go mad ... I would go up the road from my house to a massive farm on the hill.
ReplyDeleteI would stand at the fence and talk to the Highland Cattle. And the one "rescue" horse among all the sheep and goats and cattle.
I can say with confidence that Highland Cattle and horses are great listeners, the goats have short attention spans and the sheep keep asking questions.
The horse, covered in scars from his previous awful life, just hung out with the cattle and listened to me ...
The best antidote I would say John.
ReplyDeleteJust think how lovely it's going to look John ....... what colour are you painting it and are you decorating in your ' All You Need Is Love ' t-shirt ? XXXX
ReplyDeleteA very pale apple green x
DeleteI love to sit and look at the clouds and sky all the time.
ReplyDeleteIt is very zen.
cheers, parsnip and thehamish
I remember you mentioning the skywatching before. It sounds like the perfect antidote to a stressful, chaotic situation. I hope William doesn't try to sabotage any more of your decorating activities.
ReplyDeleteHe has already, he's rubbed an itchy bum on the newly painted corner of the living room
DeleteA very sensible thing to do under the circumstances, John.
ReplyDeleteA bit of sky watching sounds like the perfect prescription to me.
ReplyDeleteMy lovely Mum was a very poorly sedated and ventilated patient in June and July last year. I can't tell you how grateful we all were to wonderful nurses like you John. Not only did they help her recover, they treated her with dignity and kindness and were amazing. I like to cloud watch too. X
ReplyDeleteSmart man you are, John!
ReplyDeleteJust a peaceful few minutes are needed now and again to help us deal with it all. Deep breath and back to it.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you explained the clock... I, too, wondered about it. Years ago, when we still had the farm, I'd head out to the goat pen and lay on the ground watching the clouds... my favorite goats would always snuggle up close and take a nap. It made the worldly woes disappear.
ReplyDeleteSometimes you have to yell, "Stop the bus! I want to get off!" Smart man, John.
ReplyDeleteSounds like a good balance to me.
ReplyDeleteSometimes you just have to do that don't you.
ReplyDeleteI remember once getting home to the kindling basket overturned by Charley, with kindling and newspapers all over the living room and the basket itself chewed to bits, all the other dogs were lined up as if to say 'it wasn't us'. The telling off she got then had no effect whatsoever as the next time we left them on their own for an hour we came home to the basket I kept my magazines in all chewed up and all the magazines nibbled round the edges.