‘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 onto 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