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Editorial: Lessons learned in hospital
Commentary by Theresa Seraphim
for South Peace News
There’s one thing about being in hospital – it gives you lots of time to think and to get hold of a few lessons.
That’s what I experienced recently, anyway, after being involved in an accident near High Prairie. I was airlifted from there to University of Alberta Hospital, where I spent a week and a half.
Memo to Edmonton city council: don’t close the City Centre airport! Our health and, sometimes, our lives depend on being able to land closer to hospitals than would be the case at the International.
The doctors were competent and the nurses very caring.
Memo to Health Minister Gene Zwozdesky: we need more of them. These ladies and gents are worked off their feet from the beginning to end of their shifts, and could use a break.
Even the food didn’t live up to the usual hospital food jokes!
So, what did I discover lying in that hospital bed?
The first lesson was, when you need help, be willing to ask for it. People are quite willing to assist. Whether it was a lady from my church who fed my cats, or a friend of mine who fed me ice chips and brought me clothes, or my coworkers who sent me balloons and a teddy bear, it all made me realize how connected I am to other people, and they to me, which I often forget as I live alone.
Ms. Independent has learned a lesson. No person is an island, to paraphrase John Donne.
The second lesson was, I was lucky. Although I had fractured ribs, a mushed spleen and an affected lung, which caused one doctor to comment, “You look better than your chest X-ray”, I had no spinal, head or neck injuries. I was in stable condition from the time of the accident. When I looked at some of the people in the trauma unit who had sustained such injuries, I realized how fortunate I was.
The third lesson was, days in hospital can pass very slowly, especially when one begins to recover. I was grateful for reading material and for visits from friends and family, but there were still times when I felt alone and antsy. This made me aware there are people who are in hospital on a long-term basis. I realized the importance of being there for such people – a short visit can do wonders, and bringing them something from the outside world can also help.
In fact, I’m thinking of taking up a friend of mine on her invitation to join her and a few others at a care facility for music on Sundays. I know if I was in that facility, I would appreciate someone coming in and providing something uplifting I could hold onto.
The fourth lesson was, the body is truly a wonder. My injuries reminded me it is fragile. Guess who needed to use a walker at first to get around the unit?
My recovery reminded me a body is resilient. Guess who tooled around with that walker as fast as she could, and was soon walking independently?
The final lesson was, have patience. This goes against my natural grain of wanting things right now, so I’m still learning it. But I have to remember that ribs don’t heal in a day, or even a week, and that I will be back to normal, or near normal, in a matter of time.
So, that’s been my recent experience. I had no idea when I went into hospital I would have so much to reflect on, but that’s how life works sometimes.
Speaking of life, I am most grateful for that, too.
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