Rosemary right, take no notice of the grumpy old men Helen, they have nothing else to moan about. I am sure the ladies enjoy your visit with Hattie.
Friday was a little tough. Two lovely ladies that I really enjoy talking too are hopefully going home next week which is great for them but they said they will miss Hattie so much and we will miss them too. Also I misread a patient who has limited speech due to his condition. I thought he was beckoning me over to see Hattie, when I got her to sit next to him he grabbed her face and tried to shake and mishandle her, I quickly got her back next to me. As always Hattie was a complete star and didn't flinch in any way, shape or form and took this 'handling' in her stride. I am very proud of Hattie in what was a difficult situation .
It's a shame that some of Friday's experience wasn't as positive as you would wish but Hattie's nature has shone through. It's good news that some of the lovely ladies are hoping to go home and I'm sure there will soon be some new lovely ladies to chat to as well who will adore Hattie. You and Hattie are doing such a great job
Bless Hattie for being so forgiving , there are bound to be not so good sessions Helen , but I`m sure that Hattie makes such a difference to so many
Bless Hattie, she's a real superstar. I'm glad the rest of the visit went well, you both make such a good team and make some happy memories for people who are in need of some lighthearted relief from their illness.
Hattie and I are still enjoying our PAT work so much. Hattie is getting to know the regulars and when I missed a bed last week she guided me back into a side room where I had very nearly missed a favourite of ours. Bless him, he was on the phone chatting saw Hattie and said "Oh got to go Hattie is here" heaven knows what the person on the other end thought Hattie has her own treat box and gets her reward from the staff when she has finished her rounds. The staff gain just as much as the patients and love to see her walk through the door. Everyone has a smile on their face which is lovely When we have finished on the Hospice ward and the recovery ward we go back downstairs to the Daycare Hospice which is our favourite bit, the lovely Nurse in charge gives Hattie a massage, she is so relaxed she almost goes to sleep standing up A Consultant asked me would I consider taking Hattie to Winchester Hospital to visit the children's wards as they have been discussing the benefits of having a PAT dog visit and how much the children would love to see her. How lovely to be in demand!!
Love that the man cut short his phone call for Hattie, just shows how much you both are appreciated. I'd love see the children's faces light up too at seeing Hattie. You're are fantastic team
So nice to hear Hattie continues to bring joy to the Hospice, she's a real star. Visiting the Children's Ward would be so lovely. Keep up the amazing work Hattie!
How lovely to hear that your PAT visits have gone from strength to strength and that patients and staff look forward to your visits. What a massive compliment to you and Hattie to be asked by a Consultant to visit a children's ward. I think you and Hattie would have a marvellous time visiting a children. I will look forward to reading yours and Hattie's exploits in the Children's ward
Lovely! Not just to know that you're doing a good job where you are, but to be i demand to go elsewhere too - amazing! Well done to you both
Helen,I can totally imagine you being in demand ,sounds like you are doing a wonderful job and bringing a lot of comfort and company to folk x
I have found it tough over the last few weeks as two of the most lovely ladies that I have become very fond of have been admitted to the Hospice Ward where as they were in the Day Centre. One of them asked for Hattie so off we went much to her delight. This lady has gone blind due to her cancer. She so looks forward to Hattie's visit, she loves to feel Hattie and has said how she makes her feel so much calmer and happier The other lady was pleased to see Hattie too, although she is very tired. It is so hard one week seeing them and chatting as usual and then the next week they are in so much pain they have to be admitted. I confess that I really struggle with this a great deal. Today Hattie added drug sniffer dog to her list of duties, she was very interested in something under a bedside locker, the Nurse went to investigate and found a patients medication . I am so glad Hattie didn't eat it as heaven knows what might have happened to her but I am concerned that someone didn't get their meds, although the Nurse wasn't worried. The Dogs Trust lady came in to the Day Care Centre today to do a talk on the huge amount of work they do for dogs. They have a great education programme including visiting schools and talking to young offenders who use certain breeds of dogs for crime which I thought was such an important part of education and so worthwhile if it helps to stop this behaviour and cruelty do dogs. I asked her about the difficulty in rehoming black dogs which she confirmed is a difficulty unless it's a Labrador or a Labrador cross which are adopted quickly. It was such an interesting talk and Hattie got to meet a lovely rescue Greyhound Thank you xx
Oh Helen, I can only imagine how hard it is sometimes to visit the centre and find that the health conditions of some lovely patients have worsened, but also try to remember how much comfort you and Hattie also bring to those people, even if it's only for a short while. You and Hattie are doing such an important job in bringing a little happiness and comfort to people who really are in need You should be very proud of Hattie, for making such a difference to people's lives, and of yourself for your wonderful training of her to begin with Well done Hattie on the trained sniffer dog skills. has she been copying Charlie? I suspect that the nursing staff do find the odd pill or two under beds when patients don't want to take them, but very clever Hattie for not eating it. The talk from the Dogs Trust lady sounds really interesting, and much of it is not well advertised. Interesting about the problems re-homing black dogs. That said I've read somewhere recently that in some parts of the world black dogs are viewed as unlucky - I'm know scratching my head as to where I read it
It must be tough at times Helen, but try to focus on the good that Hattie ( and you ) are doing, the help you are giving to those who need it most . I know from my Blue Cross work that is hard to switch off and separate your job from your home life, the job tends to intrude when you least expect it to .
