You
by Lauren Akeroyd
I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t go out.
All I could do was sit or lay. I told you
but you said it was nothing to worry
about, that the treatment would kick
in sooner or later. Three months, you
said. So I waited.
No improvement. You requested that
I had a CT scan. So I did.
You asked to see me at the hospital.
I waited for you in an empty ward.
You eventually came and told me I
couldn’t leave. You didn’t understand
how much I hated hospitals, how I
hated the smell, the food, and the
patients on the ward who were all old
hags.
You led me to the Respiratory Care
Unit, and I was given a bed. You left
6 THE VOICE | Summer 2013
for a while and I was looked after by
the nurses. They put a white clip on
the end of my finger to check my
oxygen saturation levels, which were
fine. I couldn’t see why you wanted to
keep me trapped in here. A student
doctor came to put a cannula in my
arm, by your request. I knew the
routine by now; she put a tourniquet
around the top of my arm, and
tapped the opposite side of my elbow
searching for the artery. She cleaned
the skin with some alcohol-smelling
liquid and punctur ????????????)???????????????????????????????)????????????????%????e??????)???????????????????????%?e????)???????)9?????????????????????????????)???????????????$????????????)?????=????????????????????????)???????????????????????????)??????????????????????????)????????????e?????????????????)???????????????????????????)??????????e??????'?e????????????)$??????e???????????)$??????????????$????????)???????????????????????)?????????????????????e???)?????????$???????????????????)???????????????????????$??????e?)????????????????????'?e??????)?????????????????????e??????)??????????????)e???????????????????1?????e?????)?????????????????????????????)????????Z?((0