The hardest thing to do on intensive care is to care for a patient who is confused and desperately ill.
They often seesaw precariously on the very edge of sudden and often disastrous deterioration because they do not understand the need to comply with medical and nursing treatments.
I looked after such a patient yesterday.
I was somewhat fraught after 13 hours of it.
Driving home , I thought of all of those unpaid carers in this country who deal day in day out with their confused and disorientated loved ones at home. Work which often has limited or no respite, and which may carry on for years and years and years.
Thirteen hours of it, doesn't sound at all bad eh?
When I was a student nurse in psychiatry, I took an elderly lady called Jean out Christmas Shopping in Chester.
She had schizophrenia and early onset dementia and although physically fit, she remained muddled and disorientated for most of the time.
We ended up in Browns of Chester which was the flagship department store in the city at the time and as we walked through the make up department we were approached by one of those plastic looking salesgirls who was offering " squirts" of perfume for ladies to trial.
" Would madam like to try?" The plastic woman said with a plastic smile
And Jean duly held out her wrist for a tester.
I watched her reaction carefully.
Jean took a sniff of the scent and nodded that she liked it, so.., sensing a sale the plastic woman moved in for the kill.
Jean then smiled a sweet smile and beckoned the woman forward and whispered the following statement in her ear
" I knew Hitler you know, he had a massively HUGE COCK,! "
I'll leave you with a big up of the Village Christmas Fayre which takes place in the Memorial Hall on Saturday.....hope everyone can make it