... and then

Ok, so at least I've created a bit of a stir, or perhaps only a ripple, but at least the last post generated some response.

The rest of the story involves a dinner engagement with a friend who I haven't seen for a long time ... which went well until it was interrupted by a phone call beconing me to the hospital. I'm on call on Saturday evenings, and there was a couple who have recently arrived from out of town and who were requesting my presence.

By the time I arrived, the patient in question had been admitted to the OR, and his wife was waiting for his return while sitting in the corridor. I proceeded to sit with her, to chat with her, to listen attentively as she recounted the details of their travel to Sudbury, and the ensuing series of appointments and tests, all of which led up to the present moment.

More than an hour elapsed while she spoke and I listened, offering words of assurance and encouragement as best I could. Finally the attending physician appeared to deliver the verdict: her husband would soon be transferred to recovery and she could thus move to that area to await his arrival.

I escorted her to the relevant space, and made sure that the nursing staff were aware of her change of locale, then left her in their capable hands.

As I walked out of the hospital, another nurse who was near the door remarked, 'Back again, eh?' ... and my reply, 'All in a day's work'.