Harry reminds
me of a Rock ‘Em! Sock ‘Em! robot. He’s got the grimace, the crouch, the
crooked arms, the bunched fists. He’s also got a significant skin flap on the
top of his head from where he toppled forward half an hour ago. The carer has done her best to tidy him
up, but Harry is an aggressive dementia patient at the best of times and his
head injury has only made him worse. Without plenty of hands to help it’s impossible
to get anything done. The crevices of his ancient face are stained with drying
blood, in contrast with the dull, milky white hostility of his eyes.
‘I’ll muckin’ do you,’ he says,
swinging his arms backwards and forwards. ‘I’ll knock yer muckin’ lights aht.’
If it wasn’t for the wound, it would
be tempting to rest a hand on the top of his head and keep him at arm’s length;
as it is, we have to inveigle him into our chair, swaddle him tightly in
blankets, and strap him in securely. When the carer bends down to put his shoes
on, Harry tries to kick her.
‘Gerd aht’avit’ he says.
We strap his legs, too.
It’s a shame we can’t treat the head
wound here, but it’s just too deep, and aside from the stitches and sedation,
he’ll need a close watch for any developing head injury.
‘Will you be able to spare a member
of staff to come with Harry?’ I ask the carer.
Just at that moment, there’s a crash
from the room next door, followed by a high-pitched scream and anguished shouts
for help.
For a moment I think the carer might
cry. She pushes her hair away from her face with the back of a gloved hand, then
takes a steadying breath.
‘No,’ she says after a moment. ‘Sorry.’
And hurries out to
see what’s happened.
5 comments:
Somebody has her hands full.
You could do with one of those transportation units they used to move Hannibal Lecter about in Spence.
Puts a new meaning into the term 'stressful environment'. Yikes!
jack - You really had to watch yourself with Harry. Every little opportunity to get a punch in, he was there. Never mind he was in his early nineties. I think if we'd had the Hannibal Lecter kit, we'd have definitely considered it. That, or a tranquillising dart... :/
tpals - Absolutely! I think they were short-staffed that day. But then - I don't suppose it's an easy place to work even when they're at FULL strength.
Full moon never helps anything.
I know! Only anecdotal, of course, but it does seem as if there's an effect... :/
Post a Comment