It's just gone ten past three in the morning as I write this.
I am at the Accident and Emergency ward of the Nicosia General Hospital by my sleeping father. I have been here since six in the afternoon. My dad has pneumonia apparently and has been kept here until a bed can be found in the proper ward; something that is not expected to happen until tomorrow.
My mom was with me earlier and she was refusing to leave but I convinced her that my dad would be ok overnight and that we should both go home and get some sleep so that we can come back to look after him this morning.
I did not tell her that my intention was to come back to the hospital after dropping her at home. She would never have agreed to go if she had.
The doctor that examined him, a lung specialist, was very clear about the seriousness of his condition. My dad is eighty and his body is weaker by a number of other health issues. Now he has to fight pneumonia as well.
I do not really believe, or do not want to believe, that his condition is immediately life threatening. If I did, I would not have tricked my mom into leaving his side. But my dad has problems communicating after his last stroke and so it is important that he has a familiar face next to him. An accident and emergency ward is a pretty chaotic and confusing place at the best of times.
I am not sure how the doctors and staff here are able to do what they do. To me they seem super human.
They need to be able to cope with all sorts of people, we seem to have had drunks, prisoners under police guard, even a young girl of no more than two who was unconscious as she arrived and must have been in a very bad state as she was immediately put in intensive care and a whole team of doctors was rushed to look after her. The parents were understandably very distressed.
I think it's the emotional toll of the work would find very taxing, although I expect one gets battle hardened with experience.
My dad just woke up!
He looked around him very puzzled.
I hope he was not scared to see me instead of my mom. I explained that we had to come to the hospital because of the fever he had been having and as my mom was tired I took her home but came back myself to help him communicate with the hospital staff.
He seemed reassured.
I hope the old boy will be ok, I am not ready to let him go yet!
