BBC Radio 4 has been broadcasting a series of programmes exploring the ramifications of Lockdown.
I’ve been thinking about them, on my way home after a lovely day with Nigel in Chester, where we shared coffee and Phad Thai over tables together and sat and talked on a bench in the cathedral grounds.
We both had very different experiences of lockdown.
He enjoyed his
I hated mine
Unlike millions of people, I worked full time on the front line. I wore PPE everyday and felt and looked like a pig in a condom But this story , out of everything is one that I remember about lockdown, and is one I choose to cherish
My patient was admitted from home, incredibly poorly. Their family requested a Priest to be called , little did they know that unlike nurses and Doctors, Priests where not making hospice calls during covid
I stayed with the patient and hissed a request at a pragmatic smart support worker “ Get Me A Nun”
During lockdown , it had been almost impossible to get any chaplaincy support, but knowing that there was a nearby Convent I thought a nun was better than nothing , and even though nuns can’t officially give the last rights they can provide their version of the prayer over the dying to give comfort.
An elderly nun duly arrived in what seemed only like a minute or so .she was well into her eighties and looked valiant as she glided in breathless but twinkle eyed.
I had seldom seen anything so brave.
The nurses immediately surrounded her,
Helping her into PPE and mask and gloves and apron, with gentleness and respect
And clutching a bible and some holy water the nun hurried to the patient’s bedside seconds before they passed away
I wish the official inquest and the BBC had heard that story , which stands up with a thousand others that should be heard
A brave old nun, not frightened or bowed by covid
Doing the right thing at the right time
A wonderful story to remember forever. And your description put that stalwart and brave elderly nun right into my mind's eye. Thank you, John. A story that encapsulates the courage and the care that went into surviving the pandemic.
ReplyDeleteI don’t apologise for repeating it
DeleteI wish the bbc had celebrated her
What a great story! And years later here on the southern tip of africa I clap again for your courage !
ReplyDeleteIt was a horrid time horrid
DeleteMay God bless that wonderful nun. Thank you for telling us.
ReplyDeleteI think he did
DeleteI remember you telling this story before, but it still resonates. So many selfless people during that horrible time. And thinking about the Downing Street parties, so many selfish people, too. I know which ones should be honoured and remembered. xx
ReplyDeleteYes I don’t apologise for repeating her tale
DeleteThank you.
ReplyDelete🩷😊
DeleteThat period in time showed many people in their true colours.
ReplyDeleteOh jaycee,
DeleteI was the able bodied one with two elderly parents frightened in the centre of New York. Our synagogue provided help that still stings my eyes with its kindness and support.food gifts , on line services, a quiz
The nun story made me cry
Cry for those special heroes
Lee
Lee,
DeleteI never realised lockdown was so strict in the US
New York felt very different
DeleteLockdown here [NYC] was very strict, in the sense that we were told to isolate etc. No one went to work, everyone lost their jobs, it seemed. Long lines to grocery shop, shortages. Very frightening and so lonely. It was terrifying. I do not recall any penalties enforced tho. I saw no one for maybe six months. Yet now, five years later I am just recovering from my first bout of covid--only place I d been out for weeks was a doctor's office.
DeleteMy son and daughter both worked for large supermarket chains one on the edge of a large town, the other at the centre of a small market town. Neither company, at first, provided any support for their works in the form of masks or cleaning equipment and training on how to best protect yourself when dealing with members of the public. And how differently were they treated by the communities they served. My daughter in the small market town was visited by the local dentist who gave her all his supply of masks and clinical grade cleaning wipes and sprays as his practice had to shut. My son was subject to Covid related threats by shoplifters (such as being spat at or coughed on) and insults from customers when they couldn't purchase some items or multiple items because of shortages, about which he could do nothing.
ReplyDeleteMy daughter hand delivered her customer orders to the elderly and disabled and regularly phoned/ doorstep visited her house bound customers. Luckily neither of them caught the virus.
I however worked in a school with the germ spreaders known as young children and caught the virus twice, luckily with no long term problems. As teachers we were not given the vaccination early or advised to wear masks it felt that the government had forgotten about us while expecting us to work with key works children many of whom were in healthcare and therefore more likely to take the virus home then the children bring it in to school to spread it.
Everybody's experience was different but It has left me anxious and not wanting to frequent busy places.
Jane (a regular reader)
Jane your children were hero’s too, they like a million others kept things going for all of us
DeleteI’m finding the BBCs exploration of Covid’s lockdown sobering and reflective . It’s legacy has been profound
Jane, you're not the only one to still suffer anxiousness, I also feel unable to go out in the same way I could before, preferring to be away from more than a few people. My loved one died due to Covid, a dreadful time which will be with me forever. Talk of nurses or someone always being with the dying and holding their hand is utter rubbish, I asked for the truth and was told it, my loved one died alone.
DeleteI wish you well and hope you are well loved. A hug from a loved one is the most precious thing.
I remember this story well and I hope that brave nun hugs the memory of her chance to ease someone's homeward journey. I'm so glad someone thought to ask the convent for someone to help this patient and am glad you were there.
ReplyDeleteHugs!
The support worker called Rita was a star , she sorted it
DeleteWhat a brave lady and I applaud her courage. I only wish politicians had half her bravery. Covid made the world a very different place. Hugs Xx
ReplyDeleteYes,that story needed to be told to Boris in no10
DeleteI’m frightened we will return to those days and with Trump in charge, if that happens The USA that I love, will go under
ReplyDeleteKeith
Xx
Lockdown can’t happen again
DeleteCan it?
A fine woman to step up and help. You and your colleagues who worked through it all are heroes too, John.
ReplyDeleteThe hospice was the only health facility that was open to visitors
DeleteI seem to remember you telling the tales of holding dying patients hands as visitors weren't allowed in.
DeleteYou are wrong , they were allowed in but with restrictions , trouble making yet again , how sad
DeleteLovely story. Well done to the nun and yes you were amazing during that time. So proud of you.
ReplyDeleteShe was the stat, I just ambled through
DeleteWhat a lovely story. Thank you for sharing the woman’s generosity and bravery with your readers. Lynn, Pecos, NM USA
ReplyDeleteThank you lynnn
DeleteNuns get shit done!
ReplyDeleteAin’t that the truth
DeleteWhat a wonderful woman she sounds. So much bravery and kindness was shown during that time. My Dad, my husband and me all caught Covid from taking Dad, who was living with us, back to hospital for a check up on his hip replacement. They both ended up in different hospitals and me and my two sisters were told we could see Dad only when he was in end of life care. We sat with him for two days while staff turned a blind eye to the rules and brought us tea and toast. My husband’s doctors called me to say they were turning his ventilator off and did I want to come in. I held his hand while he died, then went back to my Dad’s bedside and held his hand while he died too. Staff at both hospitals were exhausted and so brave, yet so kind to us too. God bless them all. Julie
ReplyDeleteI remember the first time you told that story and it moved me then as it does now. I hope the priests who refused to attend heard it as well. My Mum, who was fighting tooth and nail to keep dementia at bay, was tipped over the edge by lockdown. She ended up in a care home, which was her nightmare, and died nine months later.
ReplyDelete80 years old and doing the right thing at the right time. Bravery. Character. High ethics. Kindness.
ReplyDeletePrior to Covid, my British Aunty had decided to leave her single family home and live in an assisted living care home. Very expensive. My British relatives told me it was like a 5-star hotel. I planned to visit and Covid hit. The home shut down. Relatives could not visit. The facility lost carers. The facility locked down. Aunty was basically locked in her room with meals delivered. Her memory started to slip. Medications were administered and agitation increased. Covid restrictions were lessened and relatives visited. Aunty recognized her visitors. Loneliness and isolation had a horrible impact on Aunty. She died as Covid came nearly to an end.
I have a US friend with an adult daughter that lived in a group home. When Covid hit and facility lockdown was announced. My friend brought her adult daughter home for the duration of Covid and she never took her back.
I worked during lockdown because my place of employment, a catalog company, was considered "essential". Two years later it went bankrupt and ceased to exist. Go figure.
ReplyDelete"Get me a Nun" will remain in my mind for many years to come! We were in deepest rural France during lockdown so other than wearing a mask for my weekly shopping trip, it didn't affect me at all. What did affect us was that kissing and shaking hands with friends and neighbours stopped 100%. It has only recently returned. For a while it seemed very strange.
ReplyDeleteI also remember being moved by reading about her before. I have known nuns like her and admired and loved them.
ReplyDeleteCovid lockdown damaged us all in some way I think.
Wonderful woman, bless her heart.
ReplyDeleteSuch a moving story in complete contrast with the eejits in Number 10.
I started my chaplaincy studies just as covid appeared so I had an interest in the way chaplains were prevented from working.
ReplyDeleteI understand that it was done to reduce transmission but I always felt that the mission of a chaplain is to bring hope where things seem hopeless. A pandemic would seem to be the exact time to allow people to move forward boldly.
Your nun embodied love in action. More power to her
A lovely memory from a dark time.
ReplyDeleteI tear up still at the kindness of the people at Asda who filled our weekly order which DH collected from their empty car park at dawn. If they hadn’t got something they put their best alternative. They added an unexpected treat occasionally, and I wept.
It was hard to rejoin the community.
To arrive quickly and willingly like that says a lot about the old nun and the fact that she saw herself as part of society - not outside it.
ReplyDeleteA powerful story, well told.
ReplyDeleteA story well worth repeating. Nuns are such special pragmatic people.
ReplyDeleteWe were so lucky during the various lockdowns, we had our own smallholding with our field to exercise the dogs, when able to could get the shopping done once a week and walk the dogs along the deserted prom. I loved the solitude and the complete inability to visit anyone (I'm a true introvert) or be visited by anyone. My sons however, worked through, one as a Police call handler, his partner working in a Boots the Chemist, and my other son who is a HGV driver driving food stuffs instead of his usual building supplies. Alan was still regularly travelling over the border from Wales to England with his job, and had a government authorised travel permit to be shown whenever he was challenged. While he was away I would be alone, but not lonely behind our closed gates.
You were one of the ones I happily applauded each and every week. You were a true hero ... and so was the nun.
Another example of what a writer you are. And observer.
ReplyDeleteA good woman who granted a patient peace as the patient died. You made me cry this morning.
ReplyDeleteA very different experience over here. Our chaplaincy team worked round the clock on site through the whole pandemic - Bel Ami
ReplyDelete