Faux Pas

The inquisitive Indian in me will, perhaps, never die. So two faux pas as a result of it. A new patient admitted to Room No 11 adjacent to ours for one day yesterday was the object of my curioisty. And why? Because throughout the day she had a minimum of ten visitors, of all ages and sizes. I wondered what her ethnic background was because the noise and visitors surrounding her room reminded me of my compatriots. Elsewhere around, the hospital is one of quietness and few visitors.

So I was trying to chit chat the nurse. "Hmmmm.. new patient?" Yes, she replied, "A lot to do. Running around and forgetting things." I asked, "What is her problem?" She politely answered, "Oh I haven't looked at her file." And then just after she left Lolo told me that the rule of privacy is such that you don't ask a nurse about someone else nor are they authorised to tell you. Of course, that should be the decorum. What was I thinking? Heck, my curiosity got the better of me again. Hugely embarrassed, I was also tongue tied for a while at my own gaffe.

A day later, I still made an idiot of myself. Mary an intern and a bubbly young girl from the Phillipines studying nursing at La Trobe university came to bid us goodbye and wish us all the best. We had become really close to her in the past few weeks. She would often come to our room for a chit chat and look after us really well. She would go out of her way to do things for us. She said she liked us a lot. Before leaving the room, I asked her where she lived. She said Epping, which is close to our place. "Come over sometimes," I said. "Oh, I can't", she replied. That nearly broke my heart. Then Lolo explained yet again that nurses cannot visit and so on. I committed a faux pas but I also think in this case, it is irrational as to why we cant continue seeing someone we like just because she happened to nurse us? Anyway!

My friend Leela is taking me out for dinner tonight. The people excited about this prospect of me dining out are Lolo, Shirley and Eric who think I need a break from the routine. Can you imagine what would have happened if I was in India? The in-laws would have disowned me if I had a drink and ate out while things on the home front were all not well! I feel blessed to have people who wish me well and I hope things go better as the day pass by.