Now that I have a soap box

Please excuse me for indulging but these thoughts kept going through my head whle sitting in the hospital and I thought I'd put them down in writing:

The Genesis and The Exodus

The cold clinical corridors
Scented by coffee and detergents
Brightened fleetingly by flowers carried by
warm caring people
Strangers at first, seemingly
unaffected by the coming and the going
of new born babies born proudly out the front
and corpses discreetly removed out the back
They speak to me of resignation and defiance
Of pain and joy
A pit stop and an end stop
A beginning and a fresh start
Of humanity and suffering
Of dignity and shame
Of defiance and tolerance
Of suffering and pain
Humbled and grateful
Enriched by their experience
Not at their expense
But vicariously
Be tolerant and ever grateful
And watch your bloody diet !

Theres a sign on the wall setting out the hospital's responsibilities and next to it, the patients responsibilities. No 1 on the list of patient responsibilities is something to the effect of "Look after your body" - how true - when you see some of the patients walking around (and the people visiting them) you cant help thinking that if they had looked after themselves better they wouldn't be there.

I take my hat off to all nursing staff (and doctors) because they are on an emotional roller coaster ride every minute of every day. I once read a book by Isac Asimov and one of the story's was about this Martian who would respond to peoples emotions somehow - eventually he got torn apart or went mad because he started tuning into too many people's emotions - I think of him at the hospital - you look at peoples faces and very seldom see what they are going through, only when you talk to them sometimes. We dont talk enough.

Its trite but its true - crisis bring out the best in the human race !