I am sorry to admit that there is a thief in our town. It was one of those days that starts off quiet and then bam a crime has been committed; not just in one care home but in two. SOMEBODY HAS BEEN STEALING THE TEA! This may seem trivial to you and I, but to the residents it is a major incident, and to top it all, in one care home someone has also been stealing the biscuits. Both crimes have unfortunately resulted in the communal kitchen being locked up at night. Both crimes have caused a lot of speculation and accusation in the corridors
Not least with one lady that I visit called Sybil who is most distressed, because this means that her and John can’t have their early morning cuppa and chat in the lobby.
Every morning for at least two weeks she greeted me with ‘Do you know? Someone has stolen our tea. Bloody disgraceful! I would’ve given ‘em the money to buy some if they were they were that hard up.’
And every morning I pretended that I hadn’t heard about this awful deed, hoping that my face would express disgust at all the relevant moments of the saga.
Then one day she found out who it was (or at least suspected who it was) Now our Sybil is not one to let things go, and each time we passed the said suspects door, she would shout, yes SHOUT. ‘Do you know someone’s been stealing our teabags Bloody disgraceful......etc.
Not content with this, we happened to be passing the unfortunate woman in the hallway this morning; Sybil immediately starts to indicate with a not so discreet nod of the head. ‘Do you know I have to take my own teabags down with me first thing in the morning because someone’s......
(pause for dramatic effect and another nod in the direction of our suspect)
been stealing our teabags……........
……Bloody tea leaves that’s what they are!’
or were! So a tea leaf has been stealing the tea leaves, I couldn’t help but smile.
For our american cousins tealeaf is cockney rhyming slang for thief
I had a call from the office to visit a lady called Moira and as usual on first calls I stayed for longer than the call is allocated to find out about the person and make them feel at ease. She was one of the sweetest ladies you could hope to meet and before I left she gave me a hug and a big smile, saying how much she was going to enjoy our little chats. As I drove away I reflected that I too would look forward to our little chats was indeed looking forward to seeing her again the next day.
The next morning I returned to find Moira asleep and although I spoke to her when I came in, she did not stir. I often come across this, so I went into the kitchen to prepare her breakfast and medication. I usually hum or whistle whilst doing this as I find that this will normally wake my ladies and gents up. After about ten minutes I returned to the bedroom with a cup of tea and tried to awake Moira up; within a few moments of calling and gently shaking, I realised that she had passed away in her sleep.
This was my first experience of a dead person and I don’t mind admitting that I felt a certain amount of anxiety, as I tried to focus on what had to be done. After all the formalities were dealt with, I was now left alone in a house and at a loss as to what to do. My initial reaction was to make a cup of tea to calm my nerves, but then what? If the truth be known I wanted to get in the car and leave as quickly as possible but obviously I could not do that; I sat in the lounge but somehow it felt wrong to leave Moira alone, so I went back into the bedroom and started stroking Moira’s hand. I know this may sound somewhat morbid and a touch macabre, but at the time it felt right. Although she was no longer with us, I still felt a duty to be by her side until someone could take over.
After a while I felt strangely at ease; there was a moment where the world seem to slow down and an inner calm took the place of my anxiety.
Half an hour later her family arrived and I left them to mourn in private, whilst I went on my way to finish my round; which is what we have to do, life goes on and we care for the living. Strangely though, I normally cross each name off my rota as I finish a call, but I could not bring myself cross off Moira’s name on that particular day; Somehow It felt too final and slightly discourteous
I know this isn’t ‘The Light side of care work’ but I hope you will forgive me on this occasion.. I promise to make next weeks blog more light hearted
