Being creative

This has been a fun and very random week on the ward and probably the most creative for me also. Last week I started chatting (take that phrase loosely, it means smiles, nods and charades) with a lady who had facial surgery the previous week and was on our ward  for wound care and until her sutures had to come out. She had a lesson from another crew member in how to chain some stitches in order to crochet and was so keen to learn more. I had a quiet shift one day so I sat beside her bed and 'asked' if she would like to learn more. She nodded and smiled and wiggled herself into a more comfortable position on her bed. We started with chaining and single crochet designs. We made a flat cup coaster shape and once she mastered that i thought we could move on to circles. So for another couple of hours in between dishing out meds and doing some vital signs we continued making a circular shape which ended up being quite large as we were using torn fabric strips with a very large hook...At the end of my shift I left with the promise I would be back tomorrow and we could work on some more designs and perhaps make something out of the random plate sized circular object we had made...

SIGH, I wish i had pictures. I came in the next day where she proudly presented a bag! She has continued making the circle which turned in on itself and she kept adding and adding and then made handles. She couldnt contain her smile as she watched all the nurses drape the bag over their shoulders showing surprise and awe that she had made this bag overnight. Such a sweet lady full of pride which made me smile all day!

We then started on headbands. We were sitting on deck 7 one day when she presented me with very fine brown thread a a needle and pointed to a lady nearby who was wearing a hat. I giggled and said to a translator to explain the last time I attempted to make a hat it did not turn out well but I was happy to show her how to make a headband. So at 14.30 that afternoon we started on the headband. It was a joy to see her learning and taking in all the advice I gave her (not that I know much about crocheting, all my knowledge comes from Nikki Smalley and my mam). We continued until about 22.00 that night grabbing moments inbetween dinner, meds, vital signs and some wound care. I made a little flower, finished it off with a button and ta-da!