Martha Sheen

One of the days creeping up to my final of 21 shifts there was an elderly lady admitted who normally lived with her daughter. Both had lost their husbands years ago. They were like best friends. After the mother had been in hospital for 4 days the doctors contacted her daughter and told her she was really unwell and might not make it. They gave the daughter the chance to come in but informed her that she had to be in full PPE and she had to self-isolate for ten days after. She arranged a food delivery and within the hour was by her mothers’ bedside.

Now, most days when I left the house my dad would wave to me out of his bedroom window and I would shout “bye love you” and he’d respond “bye, love you more”. When the daughter had visited her mother, I spoke to her for about 15 minutes to just reassure her we were going to take great care of her. She told me how much her mum loved Elvis.

As she walked away she said “goodbye love, thank you so much”, and without thinking I shouted “bye love you” and we both looked at each other in slight shock. I then very quickly apologised and she laughed and said “it’s the first time I’ve had a good bye love you this year and it means a lot”.

Naturally I then went to the staff room and cried for about 10 minutes. Then went and told everyone how I’d just told a patient’s relative I loved them. A very ME situation!

 

Covid Diary

Shift 1 of 21 First positive CV19 patient. Intense. Had multiple previous contacts. Unsure how this is going to pan out.  Nandos brought in free chicken and Leoncino brought in pizza. Survived the shift. Started self-isolating in my room.

Shift 2 of 21 2 query CV19 patients.  Positive CV19 patient moved to another ward. Free items from the Body Shop, much needed, hands are insanely dry. Nice shift.

Shift 3 of 21 4 query CV19 patients. Average shift. Grandpa spent the night in hospital. Awaiting tests.

Shift 4 of 21 The UK went into lockdown. Worked on another ward today. 2 bays of query CV19 patients. Staff on ward very anxious. Grandpa diagnosed with metastatic bladder cancer (spine, bladder, lung). Free Krispy Kreme donuts and flowers from M & S.  Phone Grandma to discuss current situation with Grandpa.

Shift 5 of 21 Worked on another ward, theatres shut, staff helping on wards. 4 query CV19 patients. Quite stressful shift.

Shift 6 of 21. 2 query CV19 patients, 2 positive patients on ward, partner of another patient.  More Krispy Kreme donuts. Relatively calm shift.

Shift 7 of 21 Worked on another ward, early shift,  staff insanely anxious. Late shift. Another positive patient. Briefly worked on another ward. Everyone clapped the NHS at 8pm. Very emotional. Family did it again for me coming home. Shift 7 of 21, think I’m coping well.

Shift 8 of 21 – Relatively quiet and settled. D and I made well-being bags for colleagues, everyone really appreciated. Big companies donated large amounts of ‘goodies’, got some pretty nice, cute bits. Spent most of my shift on another ward. very busy, no staff.

Shift 9 of 21 – Working on same ward. N got moved, very busy morning. 2 patients passed away. Very sad times due to new visiting restrictions. Did 5k which was very good for my mental health. Family quiz and free Deccan curry.

Shift 10 of 21 – moved to another ward today. Busy but nice shift. Did online quiz with friends. Nice day.

Shift 11 of 21 – moved to another ward today. Clearing out ward for any positive CV19 patients. Spoke to Grandpa on the phone. Perfect end to a crazy day.

Shift 12 of 21 – Quiet. All positive CV19 patients to be moved to another ward. Total of 5 positive patients with multiple query positives.

Shift 13 of 21 – Weird shift, everyone very stressed. This ward to be made into Covid ward. Intense. The beginning of the storm.

Shift 14 of 21 – Cleared all CV19 positive patients to one ward, cleared and cleaned another ward. Started admitting from another MFT hospital, very busy shift.

Shift 15 of 21 – Did long day instead of early, took patient to Covid ward, very busy shift.

Shift 16 of 21 – Fairly busy finished 2 hours late. Did family quiz, had very nice catch up with them all. Rang Grandma (daily basis now), Grandpa to be moved to hospice.

Shift 17 of 21 – Late shift today. Went to another ward first for patients 91st birthday, cake and card from staff. Had a cry with a colleague and a patient. Struggling now, cried for solid hour, spoke to Grandma. Not sure how much more of this I can take. Grandpa to be moved to hospice. Had our first CV death at Trafford. Sad ending that shouldn’t have happened.

Shift 18 of 21 – Slept terribly, never a good start. Relatively calm shift. Spoke to Grandpa on the phone. He really is the best human.

Shift 19 of 21 – Very busy, mainly due to mad increase in staff. Alright shift, got some free KFC, spoke to Grandma on the phone.

Shift 20 of 21 – Long day on the ward, very busy.. Slowly getting sorted, the days are getting harder, all CV19 positive or query CV19.  Relatives still not allowed to visit, making it even harder.

Shift 21 of 21 – Busy, tough day. Death 2 overnight, male patient on end of life care, wife came to visit to say goodbye. My heart is breaking for all these poor patients and their families on a daily basis, more than ready for a day off and a large gin.

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Day off – Finally a day off. Grandpa diagnosed with CV19. My heart is struggling to cope and can’t take much more. Relaxed in garden, had some gins and a couple laughs with the S’s. Seriously going to need some serious TLC post-pandemic.

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Shift 1 of 7 – Late shift. Very busy. Three more deaths taking the total to 5. Finished work late, Sundays are always the longest and hardest. Grandpa passed away late evening. My heart has never been so heavy.

Shift 2 of 7 – Tough day barely slept. Got up for early shift, pretty busy, getting better. Phoned Grandma, going to be a difficult few weeks. Did some fitness for the first time in a while.

Shift 3 of 7 – Early shift. Death 6, very sad. The girls (and general good people in my life) dropped off a basket of ‘essential items’. I’m very lucky to have people like this in my life. Facetime session with friends. Happy birthday Grandpa, you were one of the best.

Shift 4 of 7 – Early shift. 2 more deaths over night (8 in total) becoming a daily struggle. A patient’s (T) family (known since I started at Trafford) phoned to say goodbye to T, very sad shift. Had catch up with friends, discussed on going situation. Phoned Grandma. Sorted well-being bags.

Shift 5 of 7 – Early shift. Patient from yesterday passed away overnight (CV19). Nice shift, early finish to give out well-being bags, hopefully improve morale on the ward, it’s getting very difficult.

Shift 6 of 7 – Long day, busy busy. Patient who didn’t seem very poorly passed away early hours (M) plus two other patients, one that Mum knew, total to 12. Many patients gone to other wards and a couple have gone home – it’s not all bad, felt a little sad hearing about mum’s friend. Phoned Grandma. She was a little bit sad, we discussed our upcoming holiday to Scarborough

Shift 7 of 7 – Early shift. Average level of busy. Married couple in side room, husband very poorly, end of life care, distressing for wife. Had a bath and a gin, going to learn the piano (again). Phoned Grandma.

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Day off – Had a lie in until 10.30 (rare for me). Got a text about working today or tomorrow, opted for tomorrow.  Had a beer in the sun, pasta for tea. Returned to my room. Phoned Grandma and family quiz.

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Shift 1 of 3 – Early shift. Busy. Ended up agreeing to staying until 8pm. 3 patients passed away over night (15 total). Husband passed away, very distressing for wife. Long busy shift. Phoned Grandma.

Shift 2 of 3 – Long day. Busy shift. Nice team which helps. Everyone is getting rather stressed. Patient passed away early evening, facetimed his daughter earlier that day. Phoned Grandma. Backache.

Shift 3 of 3 – Long day on Ward 12. Rather good shift for the first half, second half was very busy. Patient went off and quite poorly. Two patients on end of life care. Struggling and tired. Back aches. Phoned Grandma. Relaxed in bed before going to sleep.

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Day off – Hardest day of my life, Grandpa’s funeral. Stopped off at Grandma’s, she said her goodbyes. I had to wear a facemask, the service was 20 minutes, seated 2 metres apart and no eulogy. Tough day. Had a curry in the garden with many a gin and tonic.

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Shift 1 of 14 – Slept badly. Patient had passed away upon arrival to work. Son was present. Assisted with laying out – always sad. Work let me finish at 5pm instead of 8pm. Struggling a bit and feeling very depressed. Sat with Dad in the garden while family took hamper of shopping to Grandma. Had a really nice chat with Dad. Bed.

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Shift 2 of 14 – Long day. Good team on the ward. Couple of poorly patients. A few relatives came in. A busy start and busy end to the shift. Home. Phoned Grandma. Bed.

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Shift 3 of 14 – Early shift. Patient death overnight, relatives visited yesterday and a couple days previous. Finished around 4ish. Phoned Grandma on walk home. Did a 5k after work with G, really enjoyed it. Had a gin and tonic in the garden and relaxed. Relatively good, productive day.

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Shift 4 of 14 – Early shift. M passed away over night, spent a lot of time with her on the ward. Total to 19. Spent a fair bit of time today sorting out paperwork. Finished early, gave a well being bag to a colleague. Home. Phoned Grandma, lovely as always. Did a 5k and sorted 2019 scrapbook. Very therapeutic and nice to look back. Relaxed and bed.

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Shift 5 of 14 – Started shift on ward – patient got discharged. Patient number 5!! Good start to the shift. Stayed on this ward until about 1.30 then reopened another ward, busy but do-able. Expecting 16 patients but only got 5. One very poorly (M) who has been in previously. Wife came in to see him. Another patient transferred to covid ward as query covid positive. Very stressful for family. Phoned Grandma.

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Shift 6 of 14 – Long day shift. Relatively settled morning. M’s wife spent sometime on the ward after visiting M, very poorly. I was moved to another ward for the late shift. Very busy. Phoned Grandma. Really missing her.

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Shift 7 of 14 – Early shift, ended up getting moved to another ward. Very busy but survived. Patients requiring lots of support. Phoned Grandma. Did a 5k. Clapped for carers, very busy was very heart-warming.

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Shift 8 of 14 – Long day. Was on one ward for the day, and then moved to another ward for the late shift. P told me I’m wanted at Trafford General Hospital Clock Tower on Thursday for the clap (sounds interesting). Tried to sort ward out on late shift. Stayed with patient (J) as he was major agitated.

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Shift 9 of 14 – Long day. Busy shift but alright on the whole. I am starting to get very tired of all of this.  Missing my family and friends a lot. Emotional struggle. Phoned Grandma.

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Shift 10 of 14 – Early shift. Busy shift, a couple of poorly patients. Starting to reswab patients and a few are coming back negative which is great news. 5 patients so far have been directly discharged home which is wonderful. 25-30 deaths on this ward due to Covid 19 which is insanely hard going. Hoping this is the beginning of the end. Phoned Grandma which always cheers me up.

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Shift 11 of 14 – Early shift.  Busy but nice shift, enjoy dementia care. Saw J (patient with wife O) who is much better, had negative CV19 swab and waiting to go home and be with O.  Did 5k with G, nice finish to a nice day. Phoned Grandma and did a quiz with the girls.

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Shift 12 of 14 – Early shift today, but improving on there for sure. Our patient R was discharged (patient who has been in hospital since December 2019) after recovering from a fall, 4 bouts of illness and covid. I couldn’t be happier for R and his family. Came home, started 5k with G but he got a call out at around 2k, so came home, had tea in the garden. Phoned Grandma.

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Shift 13 of 14 – Early shift today, busy but getting generally better. The ward I used to work on seems to be getting busier so will hopefully be back there next week. Did a 5k run with G, nice weather. Phoned Grandma.

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Shift 14 /14 – Early shift, very busy shift, didn’t stop. Sorted some ward stuff on another ward and got things ready for F’s birthday on Saturday. Nipped home (briefly) went back to Trafford General to clap for carers at 8pm, was very overwhelming to see the police, fire service, paramedics and other NHS (MFT) workers. Honoured to have been asked, really enjoyed it. Phoned Grandma