The Girl Opposite The Boy

Meeting Everyone

The doors then reopen, and I am wheeled into the ward and my bed is placed into a bay. The nurse locks the wheels which is when I get a chance to look around the room. There are three other beds, one next to me and two opposite me. They are all separated by the same thin blue curtains but open so we can all see each other. I notice a girl diagonally across from me in a hospital gown like me but the other two are wearing normal clothes. This confuses me, I didn't know that hospitals allowed patients to wear their own clothes. The girl directly opposite me even has her own blanket and has brought her own pens to draw flowers and write riddles on her whiteboard (all the beds have a whiteboard on the wall next to them for the doctors to write general notes on). "Alrighty Zach, this is Elly, Hailee and Calum" the nurse says, pointing to the other patients and introducing me to them. Elly is directly opposite me; Hailee is next to Elly and Calum is next to me. "Guys, this is Zach, he'll be here for the next few days" the nurse says and the guy's nod, "hey Zach" Elly says happily. "I'll give you guys some time to get to know each other" the nurse says happily, walking to the opening of the room, backing onto the rest of the ward. She stops before leaving, "handover is in 10 so I'll be back" she adds, leading the other three to nod.

I look around the room, taking in my new surroundings. It is now that I realise that Elly has an oxygen cannula in her nose and an IV connected to her arm. I see that Calum has a feeding tube in his nose, but I can't see anything really evident on Hailee. "Uh, why are you guys in normal clothes?" I ask. I don't know why that's my first question, but it is. "ha-ha, I've been wondering that too, just haven't wanted to ask" Hailee says. "Aw, you know you can ask me anything" Elly says to Hailee before turning to me. "Cal and I are longer term patients so to get us slightly more comfortable, we are allowed to wear our own clothes" she answers, and I nod, "do you mind me asking what you mean by longer term?" I ask. "Well, I've only been here since this morning, but I'll be here for another 14 days at least" she explains, "and Cal..." she trails off, allowing Cal to explain his situation. "Oh, well, I'm anorexic so I come and go, trying to get my weight up" he explains, leading me just to nod, not really sure what to say.

"And you're only here for a few days?" Elly asks me, "oh yeah, dislocated my knee, they just have to make sure I protect it properly a few days" I answer, leading her to nod. "What about you Hailee?" I ask, "oh, I think I'll be going tomorrow hopefully, I've been here 2 days which is quite enough" she laughs, "it was just a stomach bug" she adds. "Ok, so how do you guys entertain yourselves in here?" I ask, "well, the school downstairs occupies most of your day" Cal says, "Elly comes here a lot, she might have some tips" he continues. "Yeah, it gets pretty boring. I can't speak on the school thing because I stay up here for school, but I find that being stuck in a room is a good way to destress and just focus on yourself. And maybe binge a little Netflix" Elly says.

My nurse soon returns with 5 nurses following behind her – I'm assuming for "handover"­. "WINNIE!" Elly calls out, opening her arms as one of the nurses goes up to her and hugs her, "did you get a haircut sweetheart?" the nurse – or I'm assuming, Winnie – asks, "yeah" Elly smiles. Another nurse walks to Elly, while two nurses go up to Cal. The nurse that was looking after me this morning walks up to Hailee with the 5th nurse and they talk briefly with her before moving to me. "Ok Zach, this is Emma, she will be your nurse for tonight" my original nurse says, and I nod, "hey Zach!" Emma begins, "just use this button to call me if you need anything, I'll bring dinner around shortly" she continues, receiving another nod from me before the two leave the room. Calum's two nurses and one of Elly's nurses leave shortly after as well but Winnie stays. "Did you get a menu today or do you just get the mush?" Winnie asks her patient, "yeah, I got the menu" Elly replies, "good, I'll bring your dinner in with your meds" Winnie says before checking Elly's IV and walking out of the room. "You seem to like your nurse!" Hailee laughs. "Look, I love all the nurses, but I have a special connection with a few of them. Winnie has been with me since I can remember, I almost always see her when I have long stays and it is one of the highlights" Elly says.