The story of one confused resident’s morning . . .
I’m up early and wonder where I am. I look around the ward and find some coffee in the common area. I pour myself a cup and discover Digestive cookies. What a nice surprise! I have two.
I go back to my room, back to bed. A nurse comes in.
“Time to get up,” she says politely.
“No, I’d rather not. I really don’t want to get up.”
“I’ll give you a few minutes and come back later.”
I decide to get out of bed and go to the living room to get a coffee. I haven’t had one yet. What a surprise to see some.
I’m busy drinking my coffee when the nurse comes back and wants me to get changed.
“Why? I’m dressed just fine.”
She urges me to go to my room anyway, so I follow her. When I get to my room, she wants me to take off my clothes.
“Why?”
“Because you’re still in your pyjamas.”
“So? They’re clean. Why do I need to change?”
“Because you need to have your day clothes on, not your night clothes.”
I give in and take off my top. She points to my bottoms.
“You want me to take them off, too? I’ll get cold!”
“Not if you’re fast. You’ll hardly notice.”
I get the bottoms off, and she points to my underwear.
“But I don’t need to. They’re as clean as can be.”
“We put on clean underwear every day, whether it’s needed or not.”
I look at her and she looks at me. I know she means business.
Then she gives me a facecloth to wash my upper body. She knows I won’t let her do it. She gives me another one to wash my bottom.
“But it’s as clean as a whistle!”
I see her face and I know there’s no arguing with her, so I do it.
“See. Told you. Clean as a whistle. ”
I dress in the new clothes she laid out for me on the bed.
“What’s wrong with the clothes I had on yesterday?
“They had stains on them so they went in the laundry. Don’t worry. They’ll be ready tomorrow.”
“It’s all unnecessary. It’s crazy!”
I smile and give her a kiss. I know she’s doing what’s best for me, and I really like her. She’s always willing to talk to me and she’s funny. She often makes me laugh.
“It’s 8:30,” she says.” Time to go to the dining room for breakfast.”
“Yay! Finally, some coffee.”