Visitors bring outside world into hospital
SO... if it’s an ordinary hospital ward, that is not a good start!
The simple fact is that few of us prefer to be ill and if we do, then that is itself an illness!
So let it be clear that my stay here in Toowoomba Hospital is not half as good as being free from the need to be subjected to ongoing care - no matter how good that care may be!
For the past four weeks I have been subjected to first-class care administered by medics who generally know what they are doing.
Inevitably there are some aspects of the care that have been less than perfect, but the overwhelming response to the care I have received can only be positive.
I need to bear in mind that nothing is perfect and that the challenges of managing sick people are no less than in the whole community.
Just as there is an obligation for medics, nurses and hospitals to achieve full health for their patients, so also is the clear obligation for patients to speed on their own recovery.
I believe that I want to get better as quickly as possible and that is a great motivation.
The staff I have come in contact with over the past weeks have encouraged me to be positive and to cooperate with them in achieving the earliest possible return to full health.
I thank everybody involved for their openness.
My genuine impression throughout my stay is of kindliness and concern for individuals.
There is nothing better than to encourage a return for health than to praise individuals when they help themselves and I am certain this hospital endorses that.
Long stays like mine can create a
‘‘ WE DON’T HAVE TO BE PARTICULARLY RELIGIOUS TO KNOW THAT OUR FULL RECOVERY IS A MATTER OF GOOD FORTUNE AS WELL AS GOOD CARE.
void in knowing what’s going on in the world.
Visitors should remember that in addition to caring about the progress of the patient, they bring information that keeps an important interaction with real life - especially in those wards without TV (sigh!)
One of the strange things about being in hospital is that one has time to see how people behave in unusual circumstances and to realise how important it is to keep life as normal and fulfilling as possible.
Doctors need to remind you that patients retain many of the desires of normal life despite being temporarily incapacitated.
Recognising that connection between the sick and those who are being looked after is an essential part of being a medic.
Similarly it is fundamentally important that patients understand the abnormalities of their condition and use that as an incentive to “put matters right” as soon as possible.
Well! That’s enough of hospitals and all that stuff !
Let’s be thankful for the good things the have hastened me along the road to recovery.
Visits from friends have been much appreciated.
Being able to chat about the world outside is a great motivator, and I thank them for their concerns.
We don’t have to be particularly religious to know that our full recovery is a matter of good fortune as well as good care.
God knows how important are our own efforts in this recovery
I’m certain that by the time you are reading this, I shall be HOME!