The Dreams of the Little Mouse

5:30 AM, the alarm goes off. Half-asleep, I got up, got ready, cut my apple, and headed out. It would take about 25 minutes to get to the Christian Doppler Clinic.

It was very cold this morning, noticeably cooler, and I missed my headband. I warmed my hands on my still warm porridge. It was so dark, and I was glad when I stood in front of the huge building. I waited only 5 minutes, then I saw Hubert coming toward me. Once again, I kept pace with him. Upon arriving at the ward, we changed into our uniforms. My scrubs were actually one size too big, but that didn't matter. We were on a geriatrics ward, and it was clear that COVID had broken out. I had already known that yesterday.

We were here to accompany an international nurse from Colombia on duty and then to provide feedback. I was curious about how much I could contribute. Playing the little mouse was less my style.

We entered the duty room, and they started with the handover. No different from us. I asked about abbreviations, but no one could answer me, strange.

And then it began. Hardly did I look up from my notes when I saw them. The clock, the gel nails,... take a deep breath. Now you are truly just a little mouse, not a cat.

Sergio was supposed to take care of 5 female patients. We started at 7 AM. Since he was doing the recognition process for a nursing assistant, he handed the medications over to the higher service. He was responsible for personal care among other things. But first, breakfast. Patient number 1 didn't need help today, as she would be doing showering and dressing training with occupational therapy. Very cool!

Patient number 2 was