Trust Me

It never ceases to amaze me how trustworthy people are - especially when I say that I am a nurse. Just the word itself "nurse" conjures images of an innocent and trusting soul! Nurses are one of the most trusted professions in society. Almost everyone who has come in contact with a nurse will often share their innermost secrets and problems with them.

I can remember working on a remote mine site in the northwest region of Western Australia. I had just stepped off the plane when I was greeted by one of the workers who asked whether I was the administration "sheila"(Australian word for girl). I said that I wasn't. We walked across the tarmac in silence until he asked "Well what are ya here for? That is what do you do for a crust love?"I smiled and said that I was a consultant nurse, here to look at some of the workplace health standards. By the time it took to walk from the tarmac to the accommodation check-in area (about a ten minute walk) he had explained to me about how he had a few problems in his groin area, which had turned out to be a hernia. He continued to explain to me about his recent hernia operation, and how he had had an infection, which they (the doctors) now think may have been related to his diabetes. He went on to tell me that his mum and dad both had diabetes, but his dad died of a heart-attack some years ago. There was a pause in this one sided conversation, just a short one, from which followed a long winded description of how his wife of 15 years had left him for his best mate. By now we were close to the steps of the administration block, where he stopped and reached across to touch my arm, and we paused. He rolled up the leg of his work pants to show me a scar on his right knee. Proudly he told me of his knee reconstruction some years back, and that it was as "good as gold" as he flexed and straightened his leg as if to prove a point to me. He left me standing there at the entrance of the administration block, turned and headed towards his quarters where he said looking straight ahead "have a good swing love, catch ya" and walked off. I stood there staring at him as he disappeared, leaving only a puff of red pilbara dust behind him. I never even knew his name, but that was OK, because I was a nurse, and he trusted me.