We talk a lot about exhausted sickies. Today let’s discuss exhausted caretakers.
Ones who wake with every harsh cough or hard sneeze. Those who’ve made medicine runs for decongestant, cough syrup, prescriptions, tissues, lozenges, food, anything the sick person needs. Who’ve sat up comforting the sick person, holding them as they cough after only getting a few hours of sleep. Who are running on caffeine and sugar (maybe nicotine) to make sure their patient has everything they need to feel even a smidge better. The caretakers who manage maybe to sit for a minute closing their eyes which are lined with bags only to hear coughing from the bedroom, they sigh and get up with a “Hey, you up already? What can I get you?”
They’re so freaking tired but they won’t rest until their patient feels better.
I’m not even much of a fan of coughing but when someone goes straight from a sneeze into cough it sounds so sick & it makes my heart feel like someone tried to squeeze all the juice out of it. Please Let Me Take Care Of You.
YES. Nothing says “really sick” like a sneeze dragging out some coughs in it’s wake. Simply lovely!!
Whumper is draining whumpee A of blood for an experiment; whumpee B steps in so whumper can take their blood instead
Whumper has been experimenting heavily on whumpee A; whumpee B sees that A is declining quickly and offers themself for whumper’s experiment
Heroes and villains:
Villain has kidnapped sidekick and is torturing him; hero takes sidekick’s place, knowing that sidekick can succeed him as hero
Sidekick saves hero from villain’s attack and gets gravely injured; hero snaps but has to decide between attacking villain and taking care of sidekick
Villain kidnaps civilian and threatens hero with civilian’s death; hero rescues civilian knowing that it’s all a trap and villain just wants hero dead
Supervillain orders villain to kill hero; villain makes the fatal choice to save hero instead
Immortality:
Whumpee becomes a royal bodyguard; when whumper kidnaps the royal to execute them, whumpee volunteers instead, but neither the royal nor whumper know that he’s immortal
Whumper threatens whumpee’s team; immortal whumpee makes a deal: whumper will kill him once for every team member that was saved; only whumpee knows that he can only come back to life a certain number of times
Magic/curses:
Inhuman whumpee has their scales/feathers/blood etc. harvested for a spell to find others like them; whumpee decides to kill themself so the magic won’t work
Whumpee has been cursed and is very sick; caretaker can’t bear to see whumpee suffer and manages to shift the curse so they’re the one dying instead
Team whump:
Whumpee is on the run with a team and for whatever reason their affiliation with the group puts everyone in extreme danger; whumpee gives themself up to whumper to protect everyone
Whumper gives whumpee an enchanted dagger, telling him that his soul is the only thing that will save his team; whumpee stabs himself to save everyone
I was admitted via a&e last night with severe abdominal cramps and vomiting. They gave me morphine and have since put an NG tube up my nose and started me on IV fluids. They’ve done an xray and said it looks like a bowel obstruction. They’re observing me for now and keeping me on painkillers. I don’t know what the plan is so I guess I’ll just have to wait and see. There was talk of a CT scan or ultrasound but that was hours ago and I doubt it’ll get done today.
I’m so tired. I’m going to try and nap again before they decide to do anything else.
[image description: A colour photo of a stream through a forest. The viewer is looking upstream and can see a number of small waterfalls as the water makes its way down. The stream is bordered by large rocks and trees that seem to be starting to change colour at the change of season. Light blue/grey text with a black outline fills the center of the image and reads “Don’t forget your meds today.”]
[image description: On a dark background bold text changes colour from, yellow at the top, through white to purple at the bottom. The text reads “Don’t forget your meds today.”]
[image description: A colour photo, the top three quarters of the photo is of a blue sky with clouds. The lower portion depicts a white gothic styled timber house in a field of golden grain. Above the house a flock of birds. In the sky olive green font reads “Don’t forget your meds today.”]
[image description: A photo of the sky. In the upper left corner a slice of lemon obscures the sun, the sun illuminates the lemon slice from beyond. Running down the right side of the photo a faded yellow font reads “Don’t forget your meds today.”]
[image description: an off-white background. On the lower half, a brush stroke style heart in a blue and pink marble. In the top half a gold/brown sans-serif font reads “Don’t forget your meds today.”]
[image description: a tree in flower in a field of grass. Either side of the grass, are yellow fields of canola. In the bottom half of the image black text reads “Don’t forget your meds today.”]
These heartbreaking and incredibly moving images show the affection and love shown during the height of the Aids crisis. Photographer Gideon Mendel’s project The Ward began in 1993 when he spent a number of weeks on the Charles Bell wards in London’s Middlesex Hospital. All the patients on the ward were dying with the knowledge that there was no cure for the disease. During this time antiretroviral medications were not available and patients on the ward faced the prospect of an early death.
