Watchman

When a patient is admitted to the hospital, one of the family members will also stay with him or her on the ward.  We call this person the "watchman."  We have a small staff compared to the number of patients we serve, so the watchmen are very important in helping to care for patients.  Basically they do the work of an orderly or nursing assistant extraordinaire:  they cook for and feed the patients, wash them, turn them (sometimes), help them to the bathroom, transport to x-ray, take them outside for some fresh air, notify the nurse if there is a problem.

On pediatrics ward, the watchman is usually a mother or father who stays with their child.  Spouses or siblings or parents or cousin brothers or all of the above watch for patients on medical and surgical wards.  In the nursery, she is almost always the baby's mother.

When I walked into the nursery this morning, I was amused to find some rather unusual "watchmen" looking out for several of the babies...  Can you spot them?  A good laugh is a great way to start Monday morning :).

BTW, baby of Dorothy was the main character in my blog "Teeny tiny."  She was only about 1300 grams when she was born.  As you can see, we recently celebrated her 2000 gram milestone!

"I lift up my eyes to the hills--

where does my help come from?

My help comes from the Lord,

the Maker of heaven and earth.

He will not let your foot slip--

he who watches over you will not slumber;

indeed, he who watches over Israel

will neither slumber nor sleep.

The Lord watches over you--

the Lord is your shade at your right hand;

the sun will not harm you by day,

nor the moon by night.

The Lord will keep you from all harm--

he will watch over your life;

the Lord will watch over your coming and going

both now and forevermore."

~ Psalm 121