Sister Kelly's Fishtank


I have felt dreadful over the past two days.......absolutely dreadful!
Last night I was convinced I was dying of sepsis
And this morning I was sick of the sight of feeling dreadful.
Even though, I did, indeed feel dreadful.
What do you do eh?
You get up ,
You wash your swollen face and you go out.
I met a friend in a diner of a local airfield which could only be accessed through a manned gate and high security fencing.
It was atrocious place filled with screaming toddlers, whose parents were probably attracted to the place by the fact that the place was surrounded by fencing which was practically impregnable.
As we sat down, my friend caught me looking round at the main room which looked like a basic office works canteen and then at the outside area with its expanse of tarmacand we both laughed
The laugh is just what I needed



My friend reminded me of a story I told her recently that made her laugh on a bleak day.
A tale tucked away, a misery antibiotic.

It was the story of Sister Kelly's New Fishtank!

Now Sister Kelly ran a very tight ship.
Her long stay ward was always neat and tidy and very clean and her 32 patients were the pick of the most  genteel elderly ladies that had been hospitalised in the psychiatric hospital, many since before the Second World War .
The utilitarian tables in Sister Kelly's dining room each had a doily on the top with a vase and flower and hand knitted blankets and throws were laid neatly on the arm chairs.
She took a great pride in how her ward looked and it was run as it looked.

I worked on the male long stay ward next door.

Now one day Sister Kelly was given a magnificent four foot aquarium by some kind soul, and after much filling in forms the aquarium was carried up into her ward and installed in the most prestigious place on her ward , a small alcove right next to her office.
The aquarium was to be her flag ship decoration to a ward that was famous in the entire hospital . And as she arranged a raffle to raise funds for the buying of expensive tropical fish, heaters, filters and other specialist equipment, the hospital newspaper and noticeboards were filled with posters requesting donations to her underwater dream

Hubris, the whole thing smacked of hubris!

Now  I knew that Sister Kelley's ward round always took place on a Wednesday afternoon and this was where the consultant and senior therapy staff would partake in tea and cake after the patient discussions.

I rang Sister Kelly's ward right in the middle of that bunfight  and left a message for her with an enrolled nurse . The message would, I know be given to the sister by note
The note read

" The Staff and Patients of Irby ward are sending you a donation for your magnificent new fish tank this afternoon, we hope it can be useful"
Twenty minutes later we sent two of our most complient  patients up to Sister Kelly's ward with the donations
As she opened the ward room door, as the consultant sipped his tea , my patients proudly gave her two buckets of water!



41 comments:

  1. Naughty Nurse Gray! I trust that Sister Kelly later took you into her office and whipped you with her stethoscope! Take that you bounder!

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  2. Laughter is the best medicine.

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  3. Perfect, just perfect.👍

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  4. How funny! I hope you are healing and beginning to feel better. Laughter is indeed good medicine!

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  5. I hope Sister Kelly took the donation with equal parts laughter and new found humility :)

    And I hope you feel better soon. Middle-of-the-night medical fears are a bummer, aren't they?

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  6. You're not dying of sepsis then?

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  7. I nearly forgot about how your feeling I'm still laughing at the joke on Sister Kelly, take care and be well !!!

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    1. I've had 6 doses of high grade amoxicillin , I'm getting better x

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  8. TWO buckets of water, you generous donors! Hahahahahahaha! I sure hope you feel better soon, John.

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    Replies
    1. We got into a lot of shit for that one

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  9. Take care John I hope you feel better soon, you certainly made me laugh.

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  10. At least it was only water

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  11. Sometimes the only thing we can do is laugh! Take care of yourself.

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  12. Good lord, I hope you ARE feeling better soon. I feel for you, and hope whatever the hell is going on (face sepsis?!?) gets taken care of by your horse doses of antibiotics. After you're all better, treat yourself to something, be kind to yourself. You deserve it. -Jenn

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  13. Get well John. x

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  14. Laughter is always a gift.
    I do trust those buckets of water were chlorine free. Fish are sensitive little beasts.

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  15. Sarah Jones10:23 pm

    Fantastic story. Get well soon John and take care of yourself. We are in Wales this week, the peace and quietis heavenly xx

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  16. Did a post go missing? Laughter is good for us. Take care

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  17. Anonymous11:40 pm

    I didn't see that coming. Well done.

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  18. Delivered with straight faces all around.

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  19. Barbara Anne12:08 am

    Great story! Still laughing here. :)

    Sorry you're still feeling awful and hope you feel lots better soon. Might warm soaks help or have you been told not to do that?

    Hugs!

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  20. Anonymous1:16 am

    Hope you feel better soon.

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  21. The restaurant sounds dreadful - are the guarded gates a warning, or to make sure once they're in, patrons can't escape? The story is hysterical. I so wish I could come up with stuff like that; I'd have dutifully and resentfully purchased a heater or set of guppies.

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    1. The restaurant/diner has brilliant food, and is a lovely place to go during the week when all the little brats are in school!
      We go often, and have passes to go straight through the security gates without having to get permission.
      The fencing and gates are there because the diner is in the grounds of an aerospace factory/airfield where security needs to be very tight!

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  23. Great story John ! I hope you are resting today xx

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  24. Your gut instinct is telling you something is terribly wrong, please take Care, I'm concerned about you! The Fish Tank Story did make me Smile though.

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  25. Brilliant story, I hope you're feeling a bit better today. If you're not you really should get checked out again. xx

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  26. Hope you are improving daily John. Re the fish tank story - do hope that when she eventually bought fish for the tank you managed to buy one for her too.

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  27. Hilarious story and oh so satisfying! Hope you feel much better very quickly and that you continue to laugh.

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  28. Sister Kelly sounds like a tough old starchy woman. Wouldn't want to cross her.

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  29. I thought they’d be holding a couple of dead fish. The buckets of water were brilliant!
    Sinus infections suck. Take care.

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  30. That was loverly.
    Your being so sick isn't. Boy you caught a tough one.

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