I am Handicapped…..for 5 hours!
Thursday, June 8th, 2006Wednesday afternoon duty started as per normal…..taking reports, doing changing and then….suddenly a select few of us fortunate NYP students got to go to the "Plaster" room.
Plaster room? What the hell is that-you’re wondering?
It is simply a room in the outclinic at the hospital which moulds, sets splints and cast plasters on broken limbs and pinkies even. It was an interesting place as we got to joke with the two elderly technicians who did the "sawing" and moulding of plasters.
Then came an opportunity…..’how would either one of you like to be a victim who needs a backslab?’ kindly Mr Yap asked. Without hesitating, I volunteered.
Yay! Yay!
SO I surrendered my slender white arm to Mr Yap to mould the plaster in typical ‘plaster of paris’ style instead of using the more expensive scotchcasts. Well, I went in the plaster room whole and mobile, left it two hours later with a backslab on my right hand.
When I returned to my ward, ALL my patients were shocked! They started enquiring and wondering what happened to my hand?! It was touching to know that my patients were so concerned about me!
However, that feeling lasted only for a little while before I realised how handicapped I felt when I had to attend to a possible hypoglycaemic patient in the HD unit! I was pratically itching to rip the cast out but I had to perservere and told myself that, this
was how a patient felt! I guess I probably pissed off the HO at the
ward when he asked me for help and I clumsily performed my task resulting in a delay and wrong information……..argh….so guilty…..it was
already bad enough thaat he was the panicky kind!
Some of the staff actually passed curt and spiteful remarks even after
I tried my best to prove that I was hardly bothered by the cast and did
my work as normally as possible, to make up for the boo-boo! Argh!! My day was turning bad…
By 6pm, I did not hesitate to rip the cast off albeit wistfully. I had actually grown acustomed to it and was sad to drop it off into the bin. However, the freedom I felt without it was immense! I felt, WHOLE again. No hindrance whatsoever! NOw I truly appreciate all my limbs.
That is, until this morning (Thursday).
In my eagerness and hyper-ness, I tripped over a commode I was pushing…slamming my leg onto the bar, eliciting a loud ‘Bang’ and a grunt on my part…….right infront of the same HO no less. Argh!! Imagine what he must be thinking!! And the unbelieveable look he gave me…..I could not even face him the rest of the shift…avoiding anymore contact and hopefully anymore trouble.
HO (probably thinks): Oh gawd……this one is gonna be a Staff Nurse when she graduates? Oh wait….the same one who caused me precious seconds in my hypocount?! Oh gawd……oh gawd…..I pray I do not end up in the same ward as her MO……..what’s she gonna cost me next? NOoooo….
Argh….there goes my credibility.
