Often in life we have those experiences that we would rather not admit to or would wish we could roll the clock back so we could rethink our decisions. No matter what though, we can often say those situations were opportunities to learn. Hopefully though, when all is said and done, we have survived to tell about what we learned and pass on knowledge gained to insure someone else does not have to go down that same path and experience the same trials .
This past week placed me, or more than likely I placed myself, into a position to do some learning by experience and doing so has made me spend some serious time in rethinking my actions and what I will do in the future. To resolve the curiosity that I must have caused so far let me say that I am now carrying around a cast on my left arm.
In the process, I ended up spending a fair bit of time in the emergency departments of both the Battlefords Union Hospital and the Royal University Hospital. And I did learn, again, (you may ask how many times in my life I need this lesson; well obviously I needed one more) that if you take on a 60,000 plus pound machine chances are you are going to lose.
More importantly, I got to see first hand the work they are doing and in a way what they are up against. Once I arrived at BUH, I was quickly routed into a room to wait for a doctor to assess what course of action to take. I had to wait a little before he was able to look in on me. I have heard complaints that you shouldn't have to wait like this, but I had the advantage that I could hear excerpts of what the doctor was saying on the phone while I waited. From what I could hear I was able to ascertain he was dealing with a situation that was life threatening and thus it was correct that he should finish dealing with that patient before continuing on to me.
In the end, my wait was not that significant and the treatment I received was exemplary and in time I went off to Saskatoon with all the paperwork needed to get me going there.
Once in Saskatoon at the Royal University Hospital, I was looked after by a team who did another exceptional job considering what they were up against. Over the time that I was waiting there I saw patients stacked up in every nook and cranny and saw a dedicated staff going above and beyond the call of duty to give the best care possible.
One nurse had been there providing care for 15 hours and the orthopaedic surgeon who looked after me was bouncing from one broken bone repair to a dislocation. I was his sixth patient to arrive within less than an hour. Even so they both were doing a professional and quality job. If any fault should be placed it should be on those who put them into such a stressful position in the first place. We are in a province that is booming and encouraging more people to move here, but there is not enough advanced thought going into ensuring the available services are being set up to handle the increased demands that are accompanying the boom. But that is another article altogether that I could write and rave about. But I must say a great thanks to those doctors and nurses who do such a great job in looking after us even though they are often not given enough credit for what they do.
This past week, the Tuesday morning ladies' golf group held a wind up before some of the summer residents left for the season. The event included a putting contest and a potluck lunch that was hosted by Sheila Osborn at her cabin where a great social time was shared. It was a great way to tie up the season even though those who remain will continue to meet Tuesday mornings as long as Mother Nature permits.
Aug. 18, in Kaiser, Anne Fylyma placed first, Linda Ard came in second, Muriel Tebay took third and Stan Sharpe followed in fourth place.
In contract bridge action Aug. 29, first place went to Frank Antoine, with Terrence DaSilva taking second. Sept. 5, first place was tied up by Vern Iverson with Judy Iverson coming in second. Later in duplicate bridge play Sept. 6, Jim Anderson and Bea Nolan took first with Ray and Marnie Davie placing second.
My quote today is a poem that I have known for years and often think about when I hear folks complain about some service. Often these complaints come from a point of looking in and not realizing everything that is involved in the situation. It was on the glass of a curling rink for the spectators to see and was in the form of a prayer.
Quote: "Dear Lord, please grant me half of the class of some of the wizards behind this glass."
