Short Work Story

It was 9:30 in the morning, overcast and groggy, and woke up on the wrong
side of the bed and I knew today was going to be a long day. I was tasked to
take care of one of my least favorite clients. Bob. Bob had bowel issues you
see? So every time I would enter his house it would always stink like feces.
Well today was different. Of course today was different. I had just arrived at
Bob’s house and as I creaked open his old wooden door I smelt and saw the
most horrific thing imaginable.

I was unfortunately greeted with Bob sprawled out on the carpet unconscious
with feces sprayed on the backside of the carpet and the lower walls behind
the man. I’m not sure if this is a regular occurrence because I’ve only visited
the man on seven separate occasions, the worst I’d see (and smell) are his
stained briefs and the feces stenchy aroma that lingered in his home. The
other nurses don’t really tell me anything nor do I interact with them on a
regular basis, because I’m the newbie who’s only been working for two or so
weeks, I’ve been so stressed so I haven’t been doing a good job at keeping
track of time.

Not a big fan of being a Community Nurse.

I went in to this thinking that all I’d be doing was giving people obs and taking
care and cleaning people’s wounds, but no, I was dead wrong. I was looking at
this senile unconscious man thinking of what life choices had brought me to
this ungodly sight and have lead me to be standing in his doorway. What
unjustified sin have I committed? Then I realized I was the one who wanted an
extra 20k in my salary and gave up the hospital life for this.

The Hospital feels like a luxury right now.

I put some cotton buds up my nose to seal the horrific smell out and dove in to
check if Bob had passed away or if he had taken a nap and fell face first on the
floor and soiled his carpet and walls. I gave him an evaluation (checked his
pulse, breathing, etc.) and confirmed he was alive and must’ve been extremely
tired that morning. Since he may have cracked his skull on impact, and because
I don’t bring an x-ray machine everywhere I go, I called him an ambulance.
After I rushed home and returned with cleaning supplies that is.
A lot of cleaning supplies.

I was wiping down the feces on the walls and sporadically looking back at Bob,
checking to see if he was still breathing. After I finished cleaning the walls, the
ambulance came to collect Bob. I saved the responders the opportunity to
smell the feces, but they were instead greeted with the smell of Sugarsoap.
They put Bob on a stretcher and carried him out front to the ambulance and
flew off to the hospital, where I used to work. Hooray for Australian Health
Care.

The house was empty now. Just me, and the soiled carpet with the masked
smell of intense Sugarsoap. I threw that thing in the wash and waited until it
was finished, and placed it back looking spick and span. The time was now 11
am, still groggy but the clouds grew heavier. I decided to chuck a sickie, rung
the office and said I was feeling a bit crook and had to take the rest of the day
off. I spent the rest of the day showering and coping about the events that
took place in bed listening to the rain.