I suppose the work had to stop from time to time in the Easdale quarries of my ancestors. Bad weather, accidents, perhaps even the odd labour dispute. Certainly there hasn’t been much work done in this quarry for the last week or so. Mainly due to the effects of the chemotherapy which pulled me down quite a bit but then a complication arose which meant I had to spend a few days in the Queen Elizabeth Hospital. Things are fine now. It just has to be put down to another one of the challenges that have to be gone through.
The hospital was a new experience. In and out of hospitals regularly visiting people over the years I have never actually been a resident patient. From admission to being settled in a room there is of course a procedure that carries you along but there is no doubt that everyone involved does their best to reassure you. Doctors, nurses, auxiliary staff, porters, physiotherapists, technicians - everyone was patient and had a kind word when it was needed. The QE may have had its problems in recent days but the quality of care is of a high standard.
I’m slowly reading through Luke’s Gospel in my daily devotions at present and on Monday reached Chapter 10: 25-37, the story of the traveller who was mugged on the Jerusalem to Jericho road. Often when I read this I remember a famous sermon of Martin Luther King’s when he homed in on the ‘extravagance’ of the care given by the Samaritan. His pity was expressed in tending the traveller’s wounds, taking him to an inn, paying for his accommodation and promising to pay more if it were needed. Too often I have stopped at pity and not moved into the area of practical help that could really make a difference. But if you are working in a hospital dealing with vulnerable and anxious people then there can be no stopping short. And that of course is demanding. From now on my prayers for hospital staff will have the extra fire of personal experience.
