All Is Not Rosy

Aren’t nurses the nightingales?

I am still getting used to the military schedule, eat at a certain time even if you aren’t hungry, get yourself wiped at a certain time even if you are still sleeping. And then by 8 am or so, wait by your bed for the doctor teams to analyze you and check your daily progress.

Most of the nurses are rude. There seemed to be an agreement amongst them to purposely neglect me because I came from “Damansara Specialist’.   This is rather strange to me, doesn’t a famed training hospital train its nurses not to discriminate any patient?

When I appealed to have my blood draw gently, I got a ‘Do it yourself if you don’t like it’ from a nurse.

But the doctors are good, they listen attentively. One of them even reminded me about the Patient’s Charter which the ward proudly displayed on a wall.  “You have the right to ask for good treatment in the ward and also ask why.” I told him the treatment from the nurses. He went out to talk to the Head Nurse.

I am allergic to blood drawing by now. The thought of it gives me goose pimples

Before I knew it, the Head nurse came, ”You tell me who doesn’t do the work next time.” And she walked away.

I don’t think I dare……….it looks like the repercussion will be high……………..

The food menu lady came, I showed her Sara and my diet and the foods we got for last night’s dinner, breakfast and this afternoon’s lunch. Both our diet were switched. She showed me her written list from yesterday --- it was correct.

“But the print-out for the kitchen is wrong! It must be the data-entry person, I will inform them.”

Can a hospital afford to make mistakes like this?

That night, I heard a late afternoon nurse telling a night nurse, “She complained about us to the Head Nurse. So let her do things herself.”

The nurse call button at my bed

Indeed, when I pressed the red button for help in the middle of the night because of stomach pains, no one came. I kept pressing and finally one came, “What do you want? Why don’t you sleep?” were the greetings I got from the supposed to be tender caring nurse. 

                                                                   

I told her about my stomach pains and the need to have a doctor checked on me. “We are very buzy, I will tell him.”

No doctor came that night so I dealt with my pains with warm water. A tear rolled down my cheek. If this is the treatment I am going to get while I get well here, it will be no good for my mental wellness to be in an unsupportive environment.

Just bear with it, Ching Ching, this phase of your life will pass. Soon. I closed my mind and visualize me flying as a bird in the sky to fall asleep.

Breaking the monotonous routine in the ward were some ladies in scarves, hiding their faces from nurses. They came to people like me and asked, “Are you Chinese?”

“Yes.”

Then they sat down and gave me at least an hour of sermon about accepting Christ even though I dozed off to sleep often due to the medication. They are very insistent, they come back again and ask for progress!

By Ching Ching