Many continue to haunt. One was a type 1 diabetes patient, completed her detox (multiple near misses), trauma therapy freshly wrapped, new job awaiting, someone who’d relapsed previously yet hadn’t got this far before. Team was full of hope, one of the first where a new form of therapy had been deployed. Anyone who knew them was finally feeling confident. Had made it from 6 stone to 9 stone, emaciated to beaming, health m.o.t passed - no hiv, no hep - long wait for accommodation finally came through. Friday night preceding new job start the following week this person smashed both insulin sharps fully loaded multiple times into her lower thighs. Already taken an o.d too to make sure, except this individual hadn’t planned on a mate calling round their gaff unannounced
Cue blue lighter, severe organ damage, 2 below knee amputations, permanently blind, incurably traumatised, all independence permanently eviscerated, all future meds dispensed by community care teams. Stunningly articulate and attentive but an abuse history to make you wanna give up too. She confessed she could never shut out the faces of her abusers, that she was masking any real therapy progress to convince herself it had worked. Beyond monstrous
Second was a teenager hit by a drunk driver late in the evening. Against all odds, the car behind the pissed up cunt was a crew of off-duty nhs consultants on their way home post shift car pool. Worked like dogs on scene doing endless cpr and procedures under a brolly continuously, saved the girl’s life, only for the lass to be left completely paralysed and permanently trapped with locked in syndrome
Early language speech comp adopter had an eye tracker to text/speech upgrade and despite physio keeping a certain degree of muscle wastage away, her entire anatomy was contained in one form of strapping or another, her head mostly as she had no control of her neck. A colleague came in devastated post shift. This lass had written out something akin to “I know how to kill myself, have to bite down on my tongue and bleed out to choke out. Please can you help me?” She asked everyone who worked with her. She’s the main reason for slowly shifting over to night shifts. That and the £ retirement fund or in case I get hit by a bus for Mrs M and the clan. Time served? Retirement isn’t that far away