April '10

It’s no secret that I owe a deep debt of gratitude to members of the Health Service for the friendly delivery of their healing skills to me over many years. For this set of Musings I’ve chosen some hospital stays, in no particular order (which is just as well because I can’t remember all of the dates!). Here, a ’stay’ is a period of more than a day; I don’t know whether I should give a health warning to sensitive readers! I think my first was in the early 60s when I went to Kelling with pulmonary tuberculosis (“TB”); type 1 diabetes was quickly diagnosed, so I’ll soon qualify for a 50 years’ award! My memories of my time there include many with my tape recorder which I used to augment the records available for my daily radio request show. One day, I replayed the pre-recorded first part of the show while walking round the rest of the rooms in that ward. You can imagine how smug I felt when one headphoned patient called : “You’d best hurry back: the record’s ending!“. On my first stay in the old N & N (with broken ribs) a Good Shepherd choir friend mentioned me on his Hosp’l Radio Nch request show. Fortunately for me, memories of my hospital stays there are chiefly happy non-medical ones; exceptions include stays after operations, when I could only admire the surgeon’s skill. One procedure involved replacing some diseased ribs with plastic ones & the neighbouring cartilage with muscle from my other side!

Subsequent stays with rheumatoid arthritis followed at Aylsham & the N & N, where one of our former curates came to visit & a nurse asked if he was my brother! 6 years ago I had 6 weeks in the ‘new’ N & N for toe amputation - when I resisted approaches to give up the PCC treasurership as I was determined to complete my 10 years in that post. Last year, I returned for 3 stays; angioplasty had saved my left leg in the past but not the right one this time, so I lost the leg. Subsequent complications & a period of rehabilitation at Pine Cottage (see my Musings for last August) meant that I was away from home for 11 weeks!

During my hospitalisations, I've been  greatly cheered by receiving cards & visits, especially those from Jackie, who came to see me practically every day. I also particularly appreciated visits from a former Radio Norfolk presenter who'd been amused at my wearing two sets of headhones so I could listen to his show & HRN requests at the same time! Now long retired from the BBC, he then worked on HRN & often came for a chat (usually followed by a mention on air). I've written already of my deep gratitude to  members of  the chaplaincy team. Now, then, take care.

“For the world, I count it not an inn, but an hospital.”
                                                                                - Sir Thomas Browne

“Hospital rooms seem to have vastly more ceiling than any rooms people live in.”                                                               - Bertha Dorman

“Hospitals are only an intermediate stage of civilization.”
                                                                            - Florence Nightingale

“In hospitals there is no time off for good behaviour.” - Josephine Tey

“The ultimate indignity is to be given a bedpan by a stranger who calls you by your first name.”                                          - Maggie Kuhn

“It's like a convent, the hospital. You leave the world behind and take vows of poverty, chastity, obedience.”                  - Carolyn Wheat