I don’t remember that calorie from yesterday, thought Lucy, catching the mirror as she barrelled across the landing en route to the shower, past her twins’ bedroom. ‘Boys, get up – dropping you off at Nan’s in fifteen minutes.’………..Then, one twin on each arm, bag handle between her teeth, off to her mum’s, a ‘see you later’ peck for the boys, and straight out into the roadworks and behind a broken-down lorry. Hope it’s not going to be one of those days.

Shall we get to work? Bed washes.’ ‘Shall I get the hosepipe, Sister?’ Student Nurse Nicole was keen to start her placement by making a good impression. ‘Touchingly traditional, my dear, but we do things differently now – one at a time,’ Sister Karen responded without a hint of condescension.

Norman, do you take any regular medication?’ ‘No.’ Long pause. ‘Just tablets.’ ‘What tablets do you take then, Norman?’ ‘White ones.’ ‘That narrows it down a bit. OK. Let’s try a different angle. What do you take them for?’ ‘Doctor told me to.’ Becky tried unsuccessfully not to appear exasperated. ‘Tell you what, here are the keys to the trolley. If you see anything you recognise, just help yourself.’

‘Now, Gerald, we’d just like to check your pressure areas… Mmm. They look ok. We don’t want you to develop any sore bits. Now, we just need to reposition your bottom.’ Gerald fancied himself as a bit of a wit.
‘What are you going to do? Move it round to the front?’
‘Can’t do that,’ said Leanne earnestly. ‘’elf ‘n’ safety.’

‘So take good care of my granny, Don’t you dare to let her fall. And if you should discover That she will not recover, Then I’ll come back again and sue you all.’

‘How are you today, Elsie?’ ‘I’ve never been on a boat like this before.’ ‘Boat?’ Becky smiled. ‘This is a bed.’ ‘Don’t be silly. A bed would sink before it got out of the harbour.’ ‘You’re not in the harbour, Elsie. You’re in hospital.’ ‘Don’t be so silly. Why would I be in hospital on this boat?….Piffle. I was in the Navy, you know. Oh yes, I’ve shipped my fair share of captains in my time.’
‘Don’t you mean captained a lot of ships?’ Becky attempted to correct her. With the wickedest of winks and an obvious twinkle appearing in her eye, Elsie was suddenly alert and in the zone. ‘I know what I mean, dear…I could tell you things to make your hair curl,’ she almost cackled. Later, Becky reflected on her day, and on that little incident in particular. Her patients were real people. Wherever they came from, whatever they’d made of their lives, each one had their own story to tell.

‘Hello, Brenda. Is anything the matter?’ ‘No. It’s alright. I’m just being silly.’ ‘Now, come on. You’re upset about something. What’s bothering you?’ ‘But you’re much too busy.’ Becky looked her straight in the eye. ‘Brenda, if I’m too busy for my patients, I’m too busy full stop. Let’s have a little chat.’