Daughters of Liverpool by Kate Eastham

Author:Kate Eastham
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780241371251
Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
Published: 2019-08-07T16:00:00+00:00

13

‘… a strong practical … interest in the case, how it is going on. This is what makes the true Nurse. Otherwise the patients might as well be pieces of furniture.’

Florence Nightingale

‘Ha, ha,’ laughed Tommy Knox on the ward the next morning. ‘Even I don’t like going out on those small boats into the harbour, they’re rocking all over the place.’

‘Really?’ said Alice. ‘Well, the sailor with the oars told me that they were safe as houses …’ Tommy didn’t answer, he was still shaking his head and laughing, but then his face began to crease with pain and Alice knew that she would have to try and calm him.

‘It’s all right, Tommy, all right, just rest back on your pillows, that’s right, now let me have a look at the dressing. Mmm, it looks ready for another change,’ she said, keeping her voice steady but immediately concerned by the colour of what she could see oozing from the wound.

‘I’ll leave you now and go to find Sister. We need to get you some more laudanum for the pain, and we’ll see about changing that dressing, when the pain is more manageable.’

‘Aye aye, Captain,’ gasped Tommy, trying to smile but only able to manage a grimace.

Alice knew that his pain was severe; she needed to find Sister Law straight away.

‘I see,’ said Sister, after listening carefully to everything that Alice had to say. ‘The wound is showing signs of suppuration but Mr Knox doesn’t seem to have much of a fever and it isn’t showing any sign of healing. It might mean that the lump we removed was indeed cancer and that it is still active.’

Alice was trying to make sense of what Sister was saying.

‘We might need to try some other treatments, some lead or arsenic paste, in that case,’ said Sister as they made their way to the cupboard containing the laudanum. ‘And if that doesn’t work then there probably won’t be any more that we can do. We’ve seen these cases before. Unfortunately, all we can do is wait and see. But I’m sorry to say, Nurse Sampson, that things don’t look all that good for our Mr Knox.’

Alice felt shaky inside. She wanted to cry, there and then. But what good would that do Tommy? He was lying there on his bed waiting for some pain relief. The best she could do for him was take him the laudanum and do everything in her power to make him comfortable.

Sister Law picked up the medicine but then caught sight of one of the probationers, Nurse Fry, struggling to help a patient out of bed. ‘You take it, Nurse Sampson, administer the drops and then let me know when he’s settled enough for us to do the dressing.

‘Give him a tot of brandy as well, Nurse Sampson,’ she called. ‘I’ve left the bottle by his bed.’

Back at Tommy’s bed, Alice was moved to tears when she saw how he was trying to help himself as much as he could.

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