Last year she had moved out and, really, she had hardly let loose. She’d had a brief relationship with Gerry when she’d first moved into her flat but that hadn’t worked out and she had been happily single since then.
A couple of months ago, aware that Gerry was having some problems, she’d agreed to go out for a drink with him.
It had resulted in a one-night stand that had left Candy feeling regretful. Gerry had been annoyed to find out that their brief relationship hadn’t been resumed.
It was all a bit of a mess, an avoidable one, though. Candy was just grateful that no one at work knew about that regrettable night and Candy wanted it left far behind.
‘You’ll be sending postcards soon,’ Steele said, but Candy shook her head.
‘I won’t be thinking about this place for a moment.’
That wasn’t quite true, though. She would be thinking about work—Candy was seriously thinking of leaving Emergency.
CHAPTER TWO
JUST AS SHE RETURNED from lunch she was informed that Steele’s patient was here but refusing to come inside the department and had requested, loudly, that the ambulance take her home.
‘I’ll come out and have a word with her,’ Candy said as Steele was taking a phone call. She headed out to the ambulance and was met by a teary woman who introduced herself as Catherine, Macey Anderson’s niece.
‘I knew that she was going to do this,’ Catherine said. ‘It’s taken two days to persuade her to come in. She used to be a matron on one of the wards here, and still thinks she is one.’ Catherine gave a tired smile. ‘She was in a few months ago and she was just about running the place by the time she was discharged.’
‘I want to go home,’ Macey shouted as Candy came into the back of the ambulance.
Macey was a very tall, very handsome woman, with wiry grey, curly hair, a flushed face and very angry dark green eyes. She had all her stuff with her, a huge suitcase, a walking frame and several other bags.
‘Mrs Anderson—’ Candy started, but already she was wrong.
‘It’s Miss Anderson!’
‘I’m sorry, Miss Anderson. I’m Candy Anastasi, one of the nurses in Emergency, and I’m going to be looking after you today.’
‘But, as I’ve told everyone, many times, I don’t want to be looked after,’ Macey retorted. ‘I want to be taken home.’
It was all pretty hopeless. The more they tried to persuade her to come into the department the more upset Macey became. The last thing Candy wanted to do was wheel her through when she was distressed and crying and so, instead, she tried another tack, wondering if, given that Macey had once been a matron, she might not want to get another nurse in trouble.
‘Dr Steele is already here to see you,’ Candy said. ‘He’s been waiting for you to arrive. Am I to go in and tell him that I can’t get you to come into the hospital?’
Macey looked at her for a long moment and then she looked beyond Candy’s shoulder and Candy knew, she simply knew, that it was Steele who had just stepped into the ambulance.
‘Is there a problem, Nurse? Only I’ve been waiting for quite some time.’ His low voice sounded just a touch ominous and Candy met Macey’s eyes for a brief moment.
‘No,’ Macey answered for Candy. ‘They were just about to bring me in.’
‘Good,’ Steele said. ‘Then I’ll come and see you shortly, Miss Anderson.’
As he headed back into the department the paramedics lowered the stretcher to the ground and Candy found out perhaps why it was that Steele was so sharply dressed. ‘At least he’s not twelve and wearing jeans,’ Macey muttered.
Candy smiled—yes, Steele’s appearance and authoritarian tone had appeased Macey.
They took Macey into cubicle seven, aligned the stretcher with the trolley, and Candy positioned the sliding board that would help to move the patient over easily. ‘We’ll get you onto the trolley, Miss Anderson.’
‘I can manage,’ the elderly lady snapped, ‘and it’s Macey.’
‘That actually means she likes you,’ her niece said, and gestured with her head for Candy to follow her outside.
‘I’ve got this,’ Matthew, a very patient paramedic, said, and Candy went outside to speak with Catherine.
‘It’s taken two days for her GP to persuade her to come in,’ Catherine said. ‘Honestly, I’m just so relieved she’s finally here. She’s got a temperature and she’s hardly eating or drinking anything. She doesn’t take her tablets or if she does she gets them all wrong...’
‘We’ll go through all of that.’ Candy did her best to reassure Macey’s niece.
‘She’s so cantankerous and rude,’ Catherine said, ‘that she puts everyone offside, but she’s such a lovely lady too. She’s always been on her own, she’s never had a boyfriend, let alone married, she’s so completely set in her ways and loathes getting undressed in front of anyone. You’re going to have a battle there...’
‘Let us take care of her,’ Candy said, ‘and please don’t worry about her saying something offensive. Believe me, we’ll have heard far worse.’
‘Thanks.’ Catherine gave a worried smile and they went back inside. The cubicle was pretty full, with Macey’s huge bag and walking frame, and Candy had a little tidy up. ‘Why don’t we first get you into a gown and then—’
‘Get me into a gown?’ Macey shouted loudly. ‘You haven’t even introduced yourself and you’re asking me to take my clothes off.’ Candy said nothing as Steele came into the cubicle. She had, in fact, introduced herself in the ambulance. ‘You’re not a nurse’s bootlace,’ Macey said to Candy just as Steele came in.
‘Hello, Miss Anderson,’ he said. ‘I didn’t introduce myself properly back there in the ambulance. I’m Steele, or Dr Steele, if you prefer to be formal.’
Candy smothered a little smile as he repeated a similar introduction to the one he had given her. He must have to say it fifty times a day.
He ran through a few questions with Macey as a very anxious Catherine hovered.
‘You had a heart attack three months ago?’ Steele checked. ‘And you were admitted here for a week.’
‘All they did was pump me with drugs,’ Macey huffed. ‘Where were you then?’
‘I believe I was in Newcastle,’ Steele said.
‘So how long have you worked here?’
‘Two days,’ Steele answered easily.
‘You’ll be gone tomorrow.’ Macey huffed. ‘You’re a locum.’
‘I am, though I happen to be a very good one,’ Steele said, completely unfazed. ‘And I’m here for six weeks, which gives us plenty of time to sort all this out.’
They went through her medical history. Apart from the heart attack it would seem that Macey was very well indeed. She had never smoked, never drunk, and at eighty still did all her own housework and cooking, with a little help from her nieces, Catherine and Linda. Macey had until a couple of days ago walked to the shops every day.
‘It’s quite a distance,’ Catherine said. ‘I offered to do her shopping weekly at the supermarket for her but Aunt Macey wouldn’t hear of it.’
‘I like to walk,’ Macey snapped.
‘It’s good that you do—exercise is good for you,’ Steele said. ‘Do you have stairs at home?’
‘Yes, and I manage them just fine,’ Macey retorted. ‘You won’t see me with bungalow legs!’
‘Right, Miss Anderson,’ Steele said. ‘I’m going to ask Candy to help you into a gown and do some obs and put an IV and draw some blood. Then I’ll come and examine you.’ He looked at two blue ice-cream containers that were filled with various bottles and blister packets of medication. ‘I’ll take these and look through them.’
As Steele went to go Macey called him back. ‘I’m not having a nurse take my blood. That’s a doctor’s job.’
‘Oh, I can assure you that you’re better off with Candy than you are with me,’ Steele said. ‘I get the shakes this side of six p.m.’
His quip caused a little smile to inch o
nto Macey’s lips and, after Steele had gone, Candy helped her into a gown while doing her best to keep Macey covered as she did so. But the elderly lady fought her over every piece, right down to her stockings.
‘Leave my stockings on,’ Macey said.
‘Oh, I’ll leave them for Steele to take off, shall I?’ Candy challenged.
Macey huffed and lifted her bottom but as Candy rolled the stockings down she found out why Macey was so reluctant to get fully undressed—there was a bandage on her leg and around that the skin was very red and inflamed.
‘I’ll take this off so Steele can take a look,’ Candy said. She went and washed her hands and opened up a dressing pack and then put on some gloves.
‘Careful,’ Macey warned.
‘Is it very painful?’ Candy asked, and Macey nodded.
‘Okay, I’ll just put some saline on,’ Candy said, ‘and we’ll soak it off. Has your GP seen this?’
‘I don’t need a doctor to tell me how to do a dressing.’
Candy soaked the dressing in saline and then covered Macey with a blanket and checked her obs, before heading out to Steele. He was sitting at the nurses’ station, going through all Macey’s medications. He had a pill counter and was tipping one of the bottles out when Candy came over.
‘She’s got a nasty leg wound,’ Candy said.
‘How bad?’
‘I haven’t seen it,’ Candy said. ‘I’m just soaking the dressing but her shin is all red and I think it’s very painful.’
‘Okay.’ He started to tip the tablets back into the jar. ‘I don’t want her left on her own,’ Steele said.
‘Sorry?’
‘I don’t like what I’m seeing with these tablets,’ Steele said. ‘I don’t trust her not to do something stupid.’
‘Oh!’
‘I’ll come in and see her now.’
They both returned to the cubicle and Steele examined Macey. He listened for a long time to her chest and felt her stomach, keeping her as covered as he could while he did so, and then they got to her leg.
Steele put on some gloves and took off the dressing and Macey winced in pain. ‘Sorry, Miss Anderson,’ Steele said. ‘How long have you had this?’
‘A couple of weeks.’
Steele looked up at Macey. ‘That’s very concerning. This has developed over two weeks?’
Candy could hear the note of sarcasm in Steele’s voice and watched as Macey stared back at him and then backed down.
‘I knocked my leg when I came out of hospital. It’s just not healed and it’s been getting worse.’
‘That sounds far more plausible.’ Steele smiled at her. ‘Well, that accounts for your temperature!’ He took a swab and though he was very gentle the cotton tip must have felt like a red-hot poker because Macey let out a yelp of pain. ‘Very sorry, Macey,’ Steele said. He put a light dressing over it. ‘We’ll give you something decent for pain before we dress it properly.’ He spoke then to Candy. ‘Can you take Macey round for a chest X-ray?’
Just as Candy had finished drawing some blood the porter arrived and Candy went to X-Ray with Macey and Catherine. They were seen relatively quickly but Macey was clearly less than impressed at what she considered a long wait.
Having looked at her X-ray, Steele came into the cubicle and then turned to Catherine. ‘Why don’t you go and get a drink?’ he suggested. ‘I’m going to be with your aunt for the next twenty minutes or so—you might as well take the chance for a break now.’
‘Thank you,’ Catherine said in relief.
‘I just wanted to check a couple of things,’ Steele said once Catherine had left the cubicle.
‘And then I can go home?’
‘You’re not well enough,’ Steele said. ‘Now, while Catherine isn’t here, I want you to tell me how many you smoke a day?’
‘I don’t smoke.’
‘Miss Anderson, do you want me to bring in your chest X-ray and we can go over it together?’
‘Two.’ She gave a tight shrug. ‘Maybe three a day.’
‘We’ll say ten, then, shall we?’ Steele said, and Candy blinked when Macey didn’t correct him. ‘I’ll write you up for a nicotine patch. How much do you drink a day?’
‘I’ve told you already, I don’t.’
‘Six broken ribs of varying ages.’ Steele smiled at the old girl. ‘Come on, Macey. So am I to worry that you’re falling down for no reason?’
‘I slipped on some ice,’ Macey said, ‘and I’ve got a cat that gets under my feet.’
‘Fair enough.’ Steele nodded. ‘So you don’t want me to write you down for a couple of shots of sherry at night?’ he checked. ‘You can have either your own stuff, or the hospital’s cheap disgusting stuff. We just need the bottle if you want to drink your own.’
Macey took in a deep breath before saying anything. ‘It’s in my bag.’
‘Good, we’ll make sure it’s handed over to nursing staff out of sight of your niece.’
Candy stood there feeling a bit stunned but she hadn’t seen anything yet. Steele had brought back in the two ice-cream containers that Macey had brought in with her and he started to go through them.
‘Macey, you haven’t been taking these regularly.’ He held up a pill bottle. ‘Yet you’re not.’
‘There’s so many. I can’t keep up.’
Steele picked up another bottle that had just a couple of tablets in it. ‘And these were only dispensed two days ago,’ Steele said, ‘and there are only two left.’
‘I didn’t take them,’ Macey said in a scoffing voice.
‘I know that you didn’t or we wouldn’t even be having this conversation. So where are they now?’
‘I don’t know. My niece puts them into a pill box...’
‘Macey?’
‘I tipped them down the toilet. I don’t trust the drug companies.’
‘Are you depressed, Macey?’
‘Oh, you’re going to put me on antidepressants now. You’re in cahoots with the drug companies.’
‘Are you confused and mixing up your medication or are you ignoring your health?’ Steele asked, and Candy stood there, watching him stare right into Macey’s eyes. ‘Are you depressed, Macey?’
There was a long stretch of silence before Macey answered.
‘I’m not confused,’ she said. ‘Well, sometimes I am with dates and things.’
‘But you’re not confused where your medication’s concerned?’ Steele checked.
‘No,’ Macey said, and Candy frowned at the serious note to Steele’s voice.
‘Okay.’
‘Could you just leave me, please?’ Macey asked.
‘Not happening,’ Steele said, and he took down the edge of the trolley she was lying on. His legs were long enough that he sat there easily. She would need a ladder to do that, Candy thought, and then she stopped thinking idle thoughts as she started to realise the seriousness of this conversation.
‘Why did you tip the tablets in the toilet?’ Steele challenged gently, and Candy felt the back of her nose stinging as he pushed on. ‘Were you scared that you might take them all?’
Macey’s face started to crumple and Steele took her hand. ‘Look at me, Macey. Are you having suicidal thoughts?’ Steele asked bluntly, and after a moment she nodded and then started to cry.
‘Well done for throwing them away,’ Steele said. ‘Well done for coming into hospital and speaking with me.’ Candy watched as he wrapped his arms around the proud lady as she started to really sob. ‘It’s okay.’ His voice was very deep but so gentle. ‘We’re going to look after you...’
CHAPTER THREE
CANDY SLEPT FOR a few hours on Friday afternoon before her first night shift on the geriatric ward and then she got ready and took the Underground into work.
She was actually rather nervous about her night shift. She was so used to working in Emergency that she wasn’t too sure how she would go on the ward. She also had a short four-hour shift there on Sunday morning.
It will be worth it, Candy told herself as she stepped into the geriatric unit.
Hawaii, here I come!
The handover lasted much longer than it did in Emergency and the day staff went into far more detail about the patients than she had grown used to. Candy sat as the staff discussed in depth the patients’ moods and their ADLs: activities of daily living. Steele was sitting at a desk in the room with his back to everyone but didn’t leave as the handover started; he just carried on with whatever he was doing on the computer and offered comment or clarification at times.
Candy knew that she was far, far too aware of him.
The staff clearly liked him. If there was a question they would toss it over to him and he would answer as he typed away.
Elaine, a student nurse, was giving her handover to the night staff, watched over by her mentor, Gloria. Elaine was very bossy and seemed to think she was the only one in the room who knew what she was doing. She had given a sigh of exasperation when Candy had introduced herself and said that she was from the hospital bank. ‘Another one!’ Elaine had said.
As Elaine gave her handover there were a few times when Candy caught Abigail’s eye—Abigail was the senior nurse she would be working with tonight, and they both smothered a smile.
Mr Heath, who had been so unwell the other day in Emergency, was doing a lot better and Candy was allocated to look after him for the night.
She was also given Toby Worthington, a terminal patient who was on a lot of morphine for pain control and, Elaine said, liked to have his radio on till eleven at night and then turned on again at six.
‘Then we have Macey Anderson.’ Elaine moved on to the next patient.
‘I know Macey,’ Candy said. ‘I was in Emergency when she was admitted.’
‘Could you have her tonight as well, then?’ Abigail checked and Candy nodded. They went through her history, which was pretty much what Candy already knew. How Macey had been since admission had changed rapidly, though. ‘Since she’s come to the ward she’s been very withdrawn,’ Elaine said. ‘She doesn’t want to eat, or wash. She’s on an IV regime but if she continues to refuse meals and drinks she’ll need an NG tube. Steele has taken her off a lot of her medications and has also started her on a low dose of antidepressants...’ Elaine went through her medications. ‘Make sure she takes them and she’s not hiding them,’ Elaine warned, and Candy nodded. But that wasn’t enough for Elaine. ‘You have to ask her to lift her tongue.’
Baby Twins to Bind Them (Mills & Boon Medical) Page 2