Nurses

It's been a tough few weeks. Last Monday my sister was rushed to hospital with a burst appendix. Then due to complications from that op, they took her back in on Tues for an emergency operation again. She is doing well but in a lot of pain and with various tubes coming out of her poor thing. So I've been making daily visits and juggling my new job and final stages of the PhD.

It's such an eye opener just how the nurses operate. I'm sure they would say they are overworked and I've always had sympathy for them. But no one comes when she presses the emergency button (which she does very rarely) and people make promises that they will come and do things and just don't. Her drip runs out and someone says "oh I'll be back to do that". They don't reappear. Something needs checking, they don't check it. Almost every visit I must go and find a nurse, who is usually sitting having a chat with another nurse.

It was the same when I was at A & E where I kept sending Alex to get my blood results/ ask questions/ get them to connect me to the drip that they had forgotten about. Each time they were sitting around having a laugh, eating pringles.

Are nurses overworked? Hmmm. I'm reserving judgment.

catch up

I've been following the US elections with interest. I find it really depressing that John McCain might win. I just had a look at his website. He's anti-abortion, but pro guns - isn't there a contradiction there? I just can't stand people like him (and his awful running mate Sarah Palin) pontificating about the desperate situation that some women and girls might find themselves in.
Of course Palin's 17 year old daughter is pregnant too. I feel sorry for her, she is having to marry her boyfriend to make it more acceptable and there is no way she would have the option of abortion. Of course I accept that she might want to marry her young boyfriend and keep the baby, but somehow I can't help but think there was serious arm-twisting. All in all, the idea of the Republican's coming in to power again is an extremely depressing and backwards step.

On a totally different note, I have blogged for a bit. Things have been rather hectic, with my sister rushed to hospital with a burst appendix. She's on the mend, but it was a worrying time and she feels down because she was supposed to be on holiday! But nevermind, health comes first.

I started my new job on monday, but haven't been back in because there is nothing to do until teaching starts. Well there is lots to do - course and lecture prep, finish the thesis! - but all of it can be done from home. So that's what I've been doing.