Where's the Nurse?

Where's The Nurse? is an entertaining, warm and true story of a long nursing career. Margaret Stewart began training at Glasgow Royal Infirmary in 1960 and her story follows the ups and downs of a life nursing in Glasgow and Aberdeen. She tells of patients: old Mr Hickey who sharpens the blade of his cut-throat razor during the night watches; and little Anne Marie whose aim in life was to be a dancer until, at nine years of age, she had her leg amputated. Young men in the orthopaedic ward enliven the strict discipline of the day, whilst the dreaded ward sisters of those times live up to their reputation. Margaret moved onto district nursing in Aberdeen. It reveals another Scotland and a different kind of nursing care. This is a book full of unforgettable characters including: crabbit Miss Robertson; Bella and her hidden pot of gold; and Giovanni and his parrot. The loving care of families for their own, and the triumph of the human spirit over illness, make this an inspirational story. The author's sense of humour and deep compassion are evident throughout. We laugh and cry with her as she relates tales tragic and comic. Both are so much a part of human life.