Ambulances outside a hospital

Soon after John had returned to the ward, he began to regain consciousness. The nurse who was looking after him removed the airway from his mouth and gave him a pillow for his head. For the next few hours he slept soundly. From time to time the toes of his injured leg were examined to see if they were warm and pink, and his pulse and blood pressure were taken half-hourly.

At 6 p.m. John woke up and complained of severe pain in his leg. The surgeon who had performed the opera­tion had prescribed Pethidine if John complained of pain, and he was given an intramuscular injection of 50 mg of Pethidine at 6.10 p.m. As his blood pressure was now within normal limits, the bed-blocks were taken away and a bed-cradle was put in his bed to take the weight of the bed-clothes off his legs. A nurse of­fered him a bottle, but he said he could not manage to pass water.

A houseman visited John during the evening to check that he was all right and that he would be able to sleep. He prescribed a second injection of Pethidine, which was to be given at midnight if John complained of fur­ther pain. Two nurses came and helped John to wash his hands and face and to change from the white the­atre gown into his own pyjama jacket. John, who had been allowed frequent sips of water because he had not complained of nausea, was now given a cup of tea and told the nurses that he was beginning to feel fine.

sphygmomanometer artificial airway

gag

crutch

tongue forceps