The
silent young woman in bed number six is called Jasmine. So am I, but names are
only superficial things, floats bobbing on the surface of the water, and we
share deeper connections than that. Which is why she fascinates me - why I
spend my off-duty time sitting beside her.
Today is difficult. The ward heaves with patients and I am kept busy emptying bed-pans, filling out forms, changing dressings. Finally, late in the afternoon, I get a few moments to make coffee, to take it over to the orange plastic chair beside her bed. I am thankful to be off my feet, glad to be in her company once again.
"Hello, Jasmine," I say, as if greeting myself.
Today is difficult. The ward heaves with patients and I am kept busy emptying bed-pans, filling out forms, changing dressings. Finally, late in the afternoon, I get a few moments to make coffee, to take it over to the orange plastic chair beside her bed. I am thankful to be off my feet, glad to be in her company once again.
"Hello, Jasmine," I say, as if greeting myself.