No Imagination - Epiphany

Betty Lees locked her front door and looked up and down the street as was her habit every morning. She liked to check that all was in order before setting off for work. – Had the milkman been, or the postman? Did the street-cleaner machine manage to get that corner swept? Last week it had skirted round the corner piece and had left a pile of rubbish there for days.
It seemed that all was indeed in order so she gave the door a push to check that it had firmly locked and turned toward work.
As she walked she pondered on her day ahead. It was time today to move bed one and bed two. She had not been able to get to them yesterday and she could not allow things to go another day; Not in the ITU, it simply would not do.
Cleaning was in her blood she told people. Her Mother had been a cleaner and her Grandmother had kept house for the Gentry out in the country. She liked to clean and when the job at the Hospital had become available she had gone against her husbands wishes and taken on the task. That was some years ago now and she mulled over the twenty seven years she had spent there. Next year she was going to have to retire. She was approaching the age and, though she had asked, they were not about to give any leeway. If the department was still run by the Health Service she could no doubt have gone on untill she dropped, but the Domestic Services had been privatised last year and they ran a tight ship which gave no quarter and the rules were engraved in stone.
A sigh escaped her lips as she walked. There was no doubt she would miss working and hoped that she could find something to keep her busy when the time came. The prospect of being at home nowadays held no attraction since her husband had died five years ago. Pheumonia had got him and he had died in the very ward she now cleaned so assidiously. Her thoughts returned to moving beds one & two.
The butchers shop stood by itself because the Town Planners had removed all the building around it for redevelopment. Something else that would be gone by years end. Betty recalled when she and Norman had first moved to this area. Row upon row of terraced houses had occupied the two blocks that now served as a makeshift car-park. She had long since ceased to ask the question as to Why they did these things.
She knocked on the window of the shop and the butcher within looked up and waved, She mouthed that she would like a lamb-chop for dinner and he signalled back that it would be ready for her when she passed on her way home. As she walked on she wondered if the supermarket would be so obliging when Elliots – High Class Butcher closed his door for the last time?

The Hospital had grown over the years that Betty had been working. It was now a collection of Specialist units and not like the General Hospital she had started in. Still and all, it was “Her” hospital just as it was to the rest of the town. She hated the way that the modern regime saw it as a tool for political football. She hated the new Directors for turning it into a management exercise in cost-cutting and above all – she hated the current spotty kids that held these posts and spoke in a new jargon – fretting over ‘waiting times’, ‘bed-blocking’ and talked of patients as ‘Clients’. Somewhere along the way the mere act of Caring for patients as people had been forgotten.
Another sigh could be heard as she walked into the office to sign-in for her shift of duty. She barely acknowledged the Team-Leaders and collected her trolley from the store, making sure she had the required items and she added a few extra floor wipes because she knew that the given quota was never enough to do a proper job.

As if a light switch was flicked on when she entered the Intensive Therapy Unit her demeanour changed; she became the woman she knew herself to be. Knowing, caring, and able.
“Morning Sister” she called cheerily. “Got here early for a change I see. Feeling guilty I s’pose? Two days off? Who said you could have them?”
Sister Hilary Hobbs had asked for betty to be asigned to the ward ages ago because she knew a damn good worker when she saw one. The warm smile she gave spoke volumes.
“Good morning Betty. I hope you are going to clean this place properly today. It looks a complete mess, have you been off too?”
The banter continued for a few minutes as Betty wheeled her trolley into a corner and surveyed the area she had plans for. First thing was to empty all the bins of rubbish and change the plastic sacks that in a couple of cases bulged with rubbish.

Bed one was occupied by the newest arrival, but he was making good progress and would not be here for much longer, a few broken bones that would soon heal meant he would be able to go up to the Orthopaedic ward very quickly and free up a bed in anticipation of the next Trauma case.
Bed two was Daevid Hardy who had been in the ITU for a long time. He had been thrown from his motorcycle and had been unconscious ever since. The machines kept him fed and watered and the Nurses tended him and made sure that his needs were kept up.
Betty was surprised to note that his girlfriend Jane was not in yet, she came in every single day to talk to him and hold his hand and to wash him and read to him. And nothing was to trivial, she would read anything and everything. She would play his music and talk to him about that. Betty sometimes wished she had done as much for her dear Norman, but times had been different then.
The trolley held the various impliments needed to keep infection at bay and she selected the dusting wipes to make a start. The whole Unit always exuded an air of calm even in those moments when things went awry and the machines beeded and buzzed and doctors came at the run – even then the calm professional nature of the unit gave hope to every visitor.
As she wiped down the myriad surfaces she talked to Daevid. She had been in and out of the room for months so by now she felt she knew his taste in most things because Jane chatted all the time to him and about him.
“I see that the cricket is going well.” She said chattily, “I heard on the news this morning that England only need a few more runs to secure a victory. It should all be over by lunchtime.” She paused while she took another wipe from the pack. “That new roundabout at the bottom of the hill is causing nasty traffic-jams all through the town. Even up your road it gets crowded at rush hour.” She paused to slide the cloth behind the stand that held a monitor and her tongue poked out a touch as it always did when she concentrated. Out of the corner of her eye she spotted Jane talking to Dr. Anderson who was the Anaesthetist that looked out for Daevid. Everyone like Dr. A. She cared not only for the patient, she looked after the friends and relatives also.
Sister poked her head around the glass door of the unit “Give a shout when you need the bed moved Bett. Things are quiet today so we should get lots done. If you are up to it of course. I don’t want you overdoing things.”
“Cheeky monkey! Thanks Sister, I’ll tell you when. Is it ok to play some music? It is so quite in here you lot are in danger of falling asleep!”
Hilary laughed and suggested that Bett choose something from Daevids collection.
After finishing dusting around the stand she looked through the box for something that would appeal. Years ago she had gone to a few concerts with her husband and her eyes alighted on a cd by Bob Dylan. With a mischievious grin she selected the it and placed it into the player. Norman had liked Dylan and had taken her to two three or concerts that the singer had given in London. She liked to hear that gravelly voice because it gave fond memories. She pressed play.

“Look out across the fields, see me returning,

Smoke is in your eye, you draw a smile.

From the fireplace where my letters to you are burning,

You've had time to think about it for a while.”

Jane heard the music and smiled to herself, she knew that Daevid had liked this one. Dr.Anderson had given the usual reassuring but blunt appraisal and wandered off to write up her assessments of the patients in her care. She had seen Betty going about her duties and knew that Daevid was in safe hands. She sat down in a chair by the entrance and watched Betty at work and allowed herself to dream a little. And the music played.

Well, I've walked two hundred miles, now look me over,

It's the end of the chase and the moon is high.

It won't matter who loves who, You'll love me or I'll love you

When the night comes falling from the sky.

Hilary stopped what she was doing and cocked her head to one side, she had heard this song before but the strong beat and words caused her to listen as she worked.

I can see through your walls and I know you're hurting,

Sorrow covers you up like a cape.

Only yesterday I know that you've been flirting

With disaster that you managed to escape.

Jill Anderson had been the Consultant Anaesthetist for many years and loved what she did. She did it well and it showed by the thousands of letters from patients and relatives that had taken time out to write to express their thanks. She kept them all in a filing cabinet in the office. As she wrote up her notes she to paused to listen.

I can't provide for you no easy answers,

Who are you that I should have to lie?

You'll know all about it, love, It'll fit you like a glove

When the night comes falling from the sky.

Staff Nurse Pam Jenkins was teaching the new Student Nurse the fundamentals of a new cathetar that had been adopted. It was tricky at first but once you got the knack it was simple. A model was used to demonstrate and the student was repeating the exercise over and over.

I can hear your trembling heart beat like a river,

You must have been protecting someone last time I called.

I've never asked you for nothing that you couldn't deliver,

I've never asked you to set yourself up for a fall.

In the far corner of the unit sat a machine that measured blood gas and a Porter had been called earlier to change the Co2 cylinder. Andy Keely had been given the task. As he worked he to paused to listen. He knew this track, he and Daevid had spent many nights together on nights and music was a prerequisite when working overnight. They used to take turns in providing tapes or cd’s. He remembered that Daevid had rated Bob Dylan above all else.

I saw thousands who could have overcome the darkness,

For the love of a lousy buck, I've watched them die.

Stick around, baby, we're not through, Don't look for me, I'll see you

When the night comes falling from the sky.

Betty finished the dusting and turned her attention to the floor. It looked spotless of course but nothing could be taken for granted in an envoirenment where bugs lurked awaiting the chance to strike. She was about to call Sister Hills to shift the bed so she could give those bugs a splash of disenfectent when a movement caught her eye.

In your teardrops, I can see my own reflection,

It was on the northern border of Texas where I crossed the line.

I don't want to be a fool starving for affection,

I don't want to drown in someone else's wine.

She blinked. No. That wasn’t right. Or rather it WAS right – it was what everyone had hoped for. For a moment she stared not quite beleiving her eyes She opened her mouth to call Jane and Hillary…. No sound came. No movement could she make. Her disbelieif in what she could see made no sense and she stood staring.

For all eternity I think I will remember

That icy wind that's howling in your eye.

You will seek me and you'll find me In the wasteland of your mind

When the night comes falling from the sky.

Hilary sensed the change in the air. She has known this before at certain moments. She was not a believer; However, she knew this to be the moment when God walks in.

Well, I sent you my feelings in a letter

But you were gambling for support.

This time tomorrow I'll know you better

When my memory is not so short.

Jane noticed the change too. She stared at Betty who stood open-mouthed and pointing down at the bed. Slowly she stood and dared to hope without knowing why. Tears welled in her eyes and blurred her vision as Hilary took her hand and led her into the cubicle following Dr.Anderson.
The world revolved. A door opened and a parallel place existed for that single moment and seemed to last forever. A moment of ecstasy – wordless and beyond understanding enveiled all of those people gathered. They stood and stared at Daevids finger gently tapping to the beat of the music.

This time I'm asking for freedom,

Freedom from a world which you deny.

And you'll give it to me now, I'll take it anyhow

When the night comes falling from the sky.

In the silence as the song ended and his finger lay still, and they all held their breath - one further movement occurred - Daevid opened his eyes.