Liffey Green Danube Blue by Mac Maighistir Gede Eibhlin;Walker Antoinette;

Author:Mac Maighistir Gede, Eibhlin;Walker, Antoinette;
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781785370724
Publisher: Merrion Press
Published: 2016-02-21T00:00:00+00:00

8.

PARTING OF THE WAYS

What are the ways of this man’s soul?

What course has he chosen, what goal,

wandering

where only madmen and demigods dare

or can soar?

From ‘The Apostle’ by Sándor Petőfi

IF their lives were now happy and blessed, then sadness was soon to engulf László and Irén once more. In early 1976, Irén began to feel unwell. On visiting her doctor and following many tests, bowel cancer was discovered. For the next few years she was in and out of Saint Vincent’s Private Hospital, where she underwent surgery and various treatments. Sadly, all to no avail; the cancer continued to spread throughout her body. It was as a staff nurse employed at the hospital that I first encountered László and Irén. I had been working there for several years and had found my niche in nursing.

My nursing career had come about, firstly, because my godmother, Aunt Ida, whom I held in great affection, was a staff nurse herself, at what was then St Kevin’s Hospital but later became St James’s Hospital in Dublin. Ida possessed the same sunny disposition as her sister Sheila. I can remember as a child, Grandmother Maddison, my maternal grandmother, chatting to my mother over a morning coffee.

‘Ida, late into dinner once again last night,’ my grandmother tutted.

‘She adores her patients,’ replied my mother, nodding, ‘and finds it difficult to leave anyone who is dying.’

My dear aunt was like so many young women, a devoted and caring staff nurse, and I always wished to emulate her. Secondly, at the age of twenty-three, I had been feeling unfulfilled with life until my sister’s mother-in-law and close family friend, Patricia Egan, intervened. Just as László had been encouraged by his Uncle Bara, I too had my champions. It was Patricia, a woman of Scottish-Presbyterian descent with a great heart, who encouraged me to follow my dream and apply for nursing and see how I liked it.

But for Patricia’s advice, I might never have met László and Irén. You can imagine, in a nursing career, that over the years I would have met countless patients and their families; it would be hard to single out any of them. Yet I can still vividly recall that first occasion when I met László. One afternoon in 1976, Irén had been admitted to a single room on the third floor of the hospital for treatment. With her routine observation checks due, I knocked on her door and entered to find László at her bedside – her husband and my future one. As I look back now, Irén was most particular in introducing him to me.

‘László, László, here is Eibhlín,’ she urged. ‘You remember I told you about Eibhlín.’

My eyes rested upon a gentle yet strong countenance, embracing brilliant pale blue eyes that returned my gaze with deep gratitude. That encounter was tremendously powerful and its impact has not lessened with the passing years.

I can remember at that time just how caring a husband László was. Visiting daily, his kindness and dedication to his wife struck me rather forcefully and staff at the hospital often remarked upon it.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.