A very long day
I spent most of Sunday in the emergency department at Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital. My mother had a seizure and she's still in there. I'll probably write more about that later on, once things settle down one way or another. But for now, I wanted to reflect on the experience of just watching the emergency workers for a very, very long day. I reckon I was in their presence for about 14 or 15 hours all up, so I got to see them work through a couple of shifts.
It’s always amazing to me that these people can not only function in that environment without losing their minds, but somehow manage to hold on to their humanity in what has to be one of the worst environments. The hospital is the closest medical facility to the Valley, which is Brisbane’s version of a red-light district, so you get some pretty challenging characters coming through.
One of the first things I noticed on the ward was the sheer number of security personnel. And I mean real security personnel, not just some old bloke in a nice suit standing outside a jewellery shop. These were jacked dudes in tactical gear, and watching them move, I could tell they weren't just for show—they'd had proper training. They were nice blokes, though. I chatted to a couple of them while hunting for a coffee vending machine. They were absolutely necessary because, well, let's just say some of the patients were … difficult… and needed a couple of jacked dudes standing over them to stop them from tearing the place up. It’s a mystery to me what kind of person thinks it’s okay to attack health workers, but I guess we do live in the worst timeline.
What's also a mystery, but far more astounding, are the health workers themselves. They dealt with these people professionally, showing compassion for whatever trouble they were in, but they weren't about to take any shit either. The jacked dudes were there for a reason.
Most of my dealings were with the medical staff, and man, they are amazing. They’re better people than me, I'll tell you that. It’s a cliché to say they’re in a “caring profession,” but what's almost inexplicable is that they actually do care. Given the environment and some of the truly terrible human beings they have to help, it’s incredible that they can so easily find this deep thread of compassion to bind up the world.
It must be a calling. It’s not one I ever got. I did start a post-grad degree in neuropsychology decades ago, but as interested as I was in the science, I just knew I didn't care that much about people. So, I didn't finish it and ended up on the path I walk today. And as I'm having a bit of a trundle through the hills of Paddington this morning, decompressing from the day before, I'm still just a little bit in awe of all those nurses and doctors I met.
My wife is an ER nurse and every time I go into her workplace I am astounded by how hard they work, and what they do, and I know I could never do it in a million years. But then my wife goes into other parts of the hospital and can't see why anyone would want to be midwife, ICU or a surgical nurse and finds that sort of thing mind numbingly boring.
Definitely requires a special breed of human.
So sorry to learn of your mother's episode 😞
My wife is an ED doctor. She's also an anaesthetist. She's seen some pretty bad shit over her time working. Yet her colleagues have seen worse.
I think it takes a special type of person who not only has the skills and training but also the raw courage to detach themselves from the emotional aspect of dealing with trauma and get on with saving a life. I call that 3 in the morning courage. It's tge ability to get up and deal with whatever has shaken you into brutal reality and cracks on as best you can.
I hear people whinging about doctors, nurse et al being overpaid but when it’s you or a loved one that needs help NOW, yeah... that gripe quietly vanishes.
Hope your mum recovers, JB.