A Nice Morning

Ann and I took Mum-in-Law, Evelyn, to hospital this morning; she had an appointment at outpatients', to check on heart function, things like that. We were due at the Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital, Gobowen, at 10 am, so a fair old drive from home in Welshpool. Traffic was light, however, so we got there in plenty of time.

Following on from my post yesterday about the way in which we need each other (and my rather twee final statement about seeing everyone as a potential friend), can I just say that the hospital in Gobowen is not a bad example of this thought being translated into practice. As I walked through the hospital, I was conscious of the ready smiles of many people around me, and was cheerily greeted by hospital staff. One or two people I knew were also attending outpatients, as it happened, so I spent some time chatting - and everyone had the same positive things to say about the helpfulness, politeness and general cheeriness they had experienced from staff and fellow patients alike.

Of course, the hospital is not a general hospital, though it does fulfil some of those functions in the Oswestry area. Its orthopaedic specialisation means I suppose that a higher proportion of those attending as in-patients are (a) programmed admissions and (b) not in a life-threatening situation, and I suppose that makes a difference. The pace of things is not as frenetic, either, I suppose.

But isn't it also true that cheeriness breeds cheeriness, and that what we take out of this world balances with what we put in? "And in the end the love you take is equal to the love you make," as the Beatles sang. At all events, something is going right in that clean, bright and cheerful hospital, and long may it do so. A peacock appeared at the doorway (outside the main entrance), just as we were sitting down inside with coffee and scones - that was nice too. I'm reminded of a small cottage hospital I used to visit where the hospital cat was often on the ward - not a good move I suppose if a patient is, like my wife, allergic to cats, but a big plus for most of the patients. Pet animals and cheery smiles are probably worth as much as many of the drugs we take, in terms of helping us to feel and get better.