On Monday I was at the hospital for an MRI. Don't like those things so, in between the breath in, breath outs I concentrated on how weird it had been to see graffiti on the wall of the tiny changing room cubicle. The writing could have been my grandmother's, it was a beautiful old fashioned script and read "There are many things in life that may change us, but it all starts and ends with family." I came up with about five possible stories for how it got there and why it hadn't been removed. It must have had something to do with the renovations taking place in the Radiology Department and it as sure as hell wasn't a youngster who did the writing.
I would have been able to do better but another image from the cubicles kept intruding. A lady who didn't look much older than me was ushered into the cubicle area and asked to remove all clothing down to the waist. She became quite agitated, protesting that she would do no such thing and then asking what was going on, who was this person who was suggesting such an outrage? Two days later I still have these two memories flitting around in my head. I find the thought of that older lady quite distressing. I hope if ever I suffer a decline in mental ability severe enough to interfere with my being able to go for an x-ray on my own that I can be as dignified as she was.
And to ease the thought of any such horror that may be in my future I picture myself picking up a pencil and writing on the wall.
Perfect!!!!
ReplyDeleteFun post. Poor lady.
ReplyDeleteGood story :)
ReplyDeleteNow I would like to know two things.
What would you write on the wall?
How did that scan turn out?
Hope everything is fine with you!
【ツ】Knipsa
I'm still puzzled as to what could have been the context of the original writing on the wall.
ReplyDeleteThe lady who protested, i wonder if they could have done better by telling her more details of what they were doing and why. Even if she forgot in 5 minutes and had to be told again, it could have calmed her fears for that 5 minutes.
ReplyDeleteSo one thing was very calm and positive and the other was the opposite. I hope both of you had a positive result.
ReplyDeleteOh Pauline, I'm with you....touched my heart.
ReplyDeleteHowever, thoughts are firmly with you at the moment.
I've been in enough cubicles to recognize the feelings. I do think hospital staff sometimes forget that what's routine and practical to them may be new and scary and feeling somewhat humiliating for many of their patients. As for the quote, it's certainly one of those that can stick in your head, especially in that situation. While I can't argue with the beginning, I'm not sure I agree with the end of it, because how can we ever know that, until the very end?
ReplyDelete