Tuesday 8 February 2011

The Avengers.

So after last time's crazy font debacle I'm hoping that things have returned back to the simple, smaller typeface for this entry. I don't know why I'm so aesthetically obsessed with these things, but having a slightly different font for one post really annoyed me. It will be the last time I do my entries on Microsoft Word instead of the usual blogging template, I assure you.

So it's just gone quarter past nine in the morning and I've been up for about two and a half hours now contemplating what to talk about. Things have been a bit slow these last few days but I've continued to feel well and many positive vibes are flowing through my inner sanctum as I progress through my treatment. So I ask myself again, what to write about? Then it occurred to me that I haven't really touched upon the weird and wonderful staff that patrol the P Ward at the Royal Hallamshire Hospital. Nurses, doctors, support staff, catering staff, cleaners, reiki specialists; there's all kinds of awesome people who work here and I thought it'd be quite fitting to do a blog dedicated to some of the people who go to such lengths to ensure that I make the fullest recovery.

I introduced Greybeard a few entries back. The man is wise beyond his years, because in spite of being the top dog consultant, he's actually quite young. This doesn't concern me in the slightest however, as you can tell he knows his stuff. ALL seems to be his expertise, and since the day he gave me my diagnosis the sheer amount I've learnt from him has been quite frankly astronomical. But I suppose the thing I respect most about my consultant is his frankness. Greybeard does not sugarcoat anything. Right from the off, he's made me aware of the severity of my illness and the struggles that I face over the next 9 months or so. Yet he's invested such an emotional interest in my recovery to the extent that you feel that he's truly rooting for you. Whenever there's good news he's got a great smile on his face, and if I'm doing well with my treatment he sure let's me know about it. Support like this from a consultant is hugely encouraging, and I feel that a lot of my positive attitude can be attributed by the outlook of my doctor. What a dude.

Of course there are other doctors who are doing a stellar job, all working under Greybeard (I like to call the team The Avengers). Dr. Tini is a senior house officer who I'm guessing hails from a Vietnamese background. He talks like Mr Miyagi and often speaks in proverbs. I'm not even kidding. A truly wise man who also dresses impeccably, his role is mostly to make sure my general health is in check and to provide me with news on how my recovery is going. A real pleasure hearing him speak, and always great when he brings the good news. He once bowed after doing a check up. I think he's possibly my favourite.

Dr. Scottish is a lovely pharmaceutical doctor who prescribes me all my lovely medicine. Her job is to make sure my cocktail of drugs doesn't combine to do more harm than good. Very important job indeed. Dr. Giggles is the first registrar who saw me. Though he was tasked with the difficult job of breaking the news that I might have Leukemia, he goes about his business with a combined sense of professionalism and lightheartedness which actually puts you at great ease. And he giggles like a bloody schoolgirl. Another favourite of mine.

Now obviously the doctors are insanely important to my well being. They need to be on their game to ensure I get better, that's a given. But where would I be without the nurses? Constantly looking after me twenty-four/seven, I cannot express enough how much love I have for the nurses who work here. When I was going through the various pains and feelings of general anguish, they were tirelessly there for me making sure I was getting the right relief and ensuring that I was as comfortable as I could possibly be. If things got too much there would always be a nurse there to make sure I was at least being seen to. I would love to name and honour them individually, but there are so many great nurses here it would literally take me weeks. So when I get out of hospital and have my first beer or SoCo and lemonade or whatever, it's being raised to them. I seriously cannot stress how fantastic they are.

Big shout out to Bertha, member of the catering staff. Her shouts of "WANT A DRINK, DUCK?" three times a day will stay with me forever. Also Sharon, who cleans my bed every morning. Though she hasn't cleaned it since Sunday. Words are gonna be had, methinks.

That's all for now. I'll leave you with details of the Dominos pizza I had last night. A large pepperoni, sausage, ground beef and green peppers with mozzarella sticks and chicken kickers. I nearly fainted it was so good.

Big love.

Ryan.

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