2023-08-30 19:49:00
Heat. Unbearably intense heat. The windows are open, but not a trace of air enters. Or so I think. A hospital ward with only three beds (thankfully).
On the left, an old lady usually has her eyes closed. Her eyelids rarely open – is she looking at me? Where I’m sure he doesn’t see me, he raises his hand and greets me. Then he surrenders again to abandonment. For two days now, no one other than the nurses has come near her bedside. The waiters come, leave food and take it back untouched. “How long can one last without food?” I find myself thinking.
On the right, another old woman gives the impression that she doesn’t even know where she is. She calls her mother several times a day, calls her to take care of her. Then, as if frustrated, he suddenly falls silent. The nurse managed to give her two bites of cream yesterday, but she doesn’t have time for more. Somebody needs something, all the time.
In the middle, my man. At least it has me. I ponder how I will manage to be there and elsewhere at the same time. I can’t leave, but I can’t stay either. Work, child, life out there needs my participation.
The scenes are real.
Everywhere in every – public at least – hospital, when someone needs to be hospitalized, unless they are young and well enough to care for themselves (a difficult combination for someone hospitalized), their fate largely depends on their attendant. If he doesn’t, his chances of getting out of the hospital alive drop dramatically. The entire tertiary health system is based on the network of relatives and friends who support their person with strength, effort and sacrifice. The most common phrase you hear in a public hospital is “clear the corridor for patients to pass”. The corridors are impassable by the patients’ assistants.
They feed, change, put on thermometers, check serums, take papers and samples up and down the labs, fight if they need to or even if they don’t. Regular unpaid support staff 24/7.
As statistics show, the number of elderly (or not) single people will continue to increase as we have fewer children and the average life expectancy increases. Caring for people who are sick and disabled is – or should be – the responsibility of the public health system.
#public #hospital