Story of People Whom I Worked For

I knew this hospital and people who came in this hospital since I was student nurse. I have deep, honest and sincere feelings towards these poor people.

In the mid summer, as the patient flow increased by 3 times some of our staff were sick and we were only one in one shift with no breaks. There was no vacant bed and children were lying on floor on linen. I was only able to maintain few procedures and basic routine works. Hospital already in miserable condition could do nothing. I would do my best to do the routine treatment and nursing care during my shifts.

It was 4pm, routine time for vitals and medication. I was sitting on the floor calling the boy's name and checking his drugs beside him. I requested his mother to place thermometer under his arms.

I heard a familiar polite voice "sister, Hi!" from behind. I turned around to see two sisters and their mother. I welcomed them with a big smile and "oh! It's the time?" I knew them since the first day of hospital as a student.

Two innocent kids (Maya, 8 and Rose, 5) suffering from Thalassemia Major with one of their parents visited this hospital for blood transfusion every month. They were very poor.

Father earned for them whole month, collect money and spend it at the end of the month for the treatment of their kids. And today they came for blood transfusion again.

Now, they will meet physicians and senior nurses, plead them and arrange for blood transfusion and go back again. This is a cycle that I know. I preceded the admission and other procedures with free charges. I showed them the part of the floor they will stay this night and continued with the routine vital signs and medication.

The kitchen boy came. I requested him to give the sisters food though it was already late to place order for food for them. He was kind. I was real busy then when I heard sobbing from behind.

I turned around and saw the mother crying at a corner. I was shocked. I quickly looked at the boys to see if they are ok. They were fine eating their meal. I went to the mother and asked "what happened?"

I was helpless when I heard her answer "I haven't eaten anything from yesterday. And since everyone is eating I can't control. Girls were so hungry that they left nothing. I can't even spend the money I got because it's for the treatment and if I spend it now we have to return back without transfusion."

I had done every single work to help them get discounts in the hospital and pharmacy store, free diet and still it was insufficient and I could do no more than that. My hands were tied with rules and regulations of the hospital and administration. Some patient's visitors shared their meal with her then. But this is their everyday story - poverty; and, add to this the cost of treatment nagged the poor.