We met David Wright at his house not that far from the Western General Hospital. A generous welcome included freshly brewed coffee and equally delicious honey cakes baked the evening before. The honey for the cakes is produced by the bees that David and his wife, Bron, keep in their garden. He was slightly worried about the bees; a chilly April has meant that the colonies are still very small. Hopefully a warmer May will mean the bees have plenty of opportunity to forage and build their numbers.
David was a consultant anaesthetist at the Western from 1979 till his retirement in 2005, working for much of that time in Intensive Care. He has many fond memories of his working life at the hospital, in ICU and in the various theatres and wards, and especially emphasised the camaraderie and team work that comes from working in pressured healthcare situations. The fundraising bicycle ride to Linlithgow, which was held for a number of years, was a great example of those moments when folk came together to literally go that extra mile.
Sometimes the hard work would take its toll. So once, after a long night working, he was due at D Block for a lifting and handling course, where, as an introduction, all participants were asked to lie down and relax for a couple of minutes. This invitation was like manna from heaven as David relaxed and quickly sank into a deep sleep…… Suffice to say that it was a shock to be brought back to reality when the real business of the session commenced!
As part of discovering a new dimension to the site on which care has been provided for the last 150 years David offered to do a nature and wildlife walk. Look out for what was discovered on these pages soon.
The cycle run was always great fun, I remember one year the team from the casualty department all headed off dressed as cats which was fine till I got a puncture and they left me behind …complete with tail and whiskers and no change of clothes.