Whilst on complete bed rest I had a lot of time to think about my future so with a couple of friends Sally and Amy we applied to Beckenham Maternity Hospital for training to become mid-wives.
We were all accepted and spent year training for our part one midwifery certificate.
It was compulsory that students delivered 100 babies and I did but I could not get the feel of achievement that I got when nursing sick people. During our year in Beckenham we managed to find accommodation in a very respectable detached house with all of us having our own bedrooms and complete use of all the commodities in the residence. The house was owned by a single lady who spent a lot of time on the Continent and she allowed us the use of it for a minimal rent in return for us keeping an eye on the property. My two friends went on to do part two and proceeded on a career of midwifery but I decided to do District Nurse training which meant learning how to look after patients in their own homes.
Once I had received my training I returned to Hastings and as relief nurse I had to learn every area from the Bexhill border as far as Ecclesbourne Glen Fairlight. This was challenging but enjoyable because when you knocked on a client’s door one had no idea what condition or crisis would confront you! Of course my car was now an essential piece of equipment to enable me to access all my different ports of call.
I can remember one morning I did my diabetic visits first and had an urgent call to a lady who needed help with her bowels. I had just completed the procedure and got her onto a commode when I realised I had forgotten a patient needing insulin before breakfast so saying I would only be ten minutes I jumped into my car sped to the lady and with many apologies gave the injection. Anxious to get back to my previous patient ensconced on the commode I failed to notice I was doing more speed than I should in a 30 mile an hour limit zone and was suddenly stopped by a police patrol man. Inspiration came to me and I quickly explained the situation saying what had happened and that my first patient was waiting to be rescued from her commode? I will never know if he really believed me as I am sure he had never heard an excuse for speeding like mine before but he put his black note book away and waved me on! Hope it was my uniform that convinced him!
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