Topic: Stephen Says
I spent too many hours at the local hospital (St. Peter's) this evening. Amongst the people I saw come through:
- A fellow who looked like someone had taken a tire iron to his face - he was split open from forehead to chin and spouting/ drenched in the kind of blood that they never show in movies - a combination of bright red, maroon and black.
- Another guy wiped out on his motorcycle and dislocated his shoulder and bunged up his neck but got dischaged relatively easily.
- A middle-aged Asian man who had a mild epileptic fit (I mean seizure. Damn you heartless British terminology!) who got rushed to the hospital thanks to some over-anxious neighbours. 20 members of his immediate family showed up and it was all a bit of a joke.
There are too many elderly peope in hospitals which is depressing. What's also depressing is that I got fucked over by the crisis response team tonight and had to deal with things that were out of my remit. Ah well, as was said to me by my manager, "You've done what you did because you have a heart. If you stop doing what you're doing, you won't have a soul." Or something to that extent.
Being a good wife, Elisabeth bought me some booze to help unwind after what has probably been my most stressful day yet. Being attacked, threatened and bathing in poo & pee has nothing on how I feel today, though that's not to say that one or more of those things didn't happen.
It's weird how my brain now just goes into 'deal with it' mode and no matter how much I might want to avoid dealing with things because their so dreadful. When push comes to shove, my mind just shrugs and says 'well, you've got to deal with it so rock'n roll.' And I don't feel tense or stressed and I just do it.
The stress comes later.