Bob is keen to get the day started. Artichoke hearts from the greengrocer; cheese, potato and cauliflower pasta from the delicatessen and Rondin de Bigorre from the cheese lady. This last might as well be called ' Kick of the Mule '. Bob gets a sliver and gives it a vote of 100/10. He does his soft shoe shuffle.
Mid afternoon. The sound of a crunching gears precedes the arrival of Madame Bay and the increasingly battered 'Wild Child' voiturette. She makes a resplendent figure in her black and turquoise two piece with matching turban. Madame Bay has been visiting the Very Old Farmer in hospital. The old man has been on a drip for the the last two weeks. It was finally taken out on Sunday. Somehow the staff forgot to reinstate his pain medication. Whenever the doctor came by to check on him the VOF would nod and say everything was ok in that way the very old do. It took our doughty ex-cleaning lady to discover that he was in great pain and couldn't sleep at night. The doctor was summoned. When told by the ward sister that the doctor was busy Madame Bay 'created a scene'. We are not told what this entailed but the VOF is now on pain killers.
19 comments:
Thank goodness for Mme Bay.
Such lack of care for an elderly person.
Well done Mme Bay, a genuine heroine (and not only of this blog). If I were the VOF I would want the eccentric but vibrant and so kind-hearted turban wearer batting on my team.
Is is a worldwide problem, the pitiful neglect of the vulnerable elderly in hospital?
Gail.
Good for Mme Bay, we need a Mme Bay in all hospitals to make them look after all patients as they should !
Every lil town needs an angel like Madame Bay.
Personal experience of aged parents would indicate that there are those in the system who get inured and callous to the sufferings of old age. Then again there are angels.
Take a peek underneath that turban that Madame Bay wears……..you just might find a halo. Just a thought……from the Westcoast of Canada.
Good for Mme Bay!
WTG Madame Bay! Someone you want in your corner.
I want to kiss those cute doggies right on the nose! Thank you for lifting my Spirits each day.
Every so often, each of us needs a Madame Bay to grab hold of the reins and take control. Bless her.
Brava, Madame Bay! Here's hoping the VOF farmer's healing will now accelerate.
good
As I learned during my late Mother's last days in the hospital, you MUST have an advocate to watch out for you. It is so kind of Madame Bay to step into that role for the VOF.
I agree the very old and the very young hospital patient both need some one to watch over them. I will bet the VOF would be thrilled with a short visit from you, Angus, read the local gazette with him or just share a few words. Anyway, Hooray for Madame Bay!
Jo in USA
How horrible for the VOF! Was no one using common sense? Where was the VOF's son? And the nurses... There must have been several shift changes. No one picked this up? Totally unacceptable!
Hurrah for Mme.Bay. Sometimes the only resort is a scene. Last year, a doctor at the local hospital told me, in front of two nurses, that my mother was "a waste of medical resources".
A scene, with the possibility of calling in the local press, remedied the situation.
(P.S. We think a there may be a halo under Mme.Bay's turban too.)
Yay for Mme Bay...I hope there'll be someone like her on my side, should I ever need it!
Yes, we've all been there. Perhaps staff who work in the geriatric wards just have to feign indifference to cope with the stress ? Or there again maybe some of them just become indifferent and callous. Whatever the reason thank heavens for interlocutors like Madame Bay.
Ditto to all above.
I would probably give the potato and cauliflower pasta a try....
Thank the heavens above for Madame Bay...she saved the day (or the nights) of the Very Old Farmer....now he can have a peaceful night's rest. I can see Madame Bay "creating a scene" and I love it.
I won't get started on the horror stories that I sometimes hear of the hospital staff here.
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