#1: A Day in the Life of Jack Maynard Author: Identity Hunt, Location: UKPosted: Wed Apr 05, 2006 5:38 pm Jack Maynard sighed wearily. It was eleven am and he had been at the Sanatorium all night.
Although as a consultant, he was no longer expected to take part in the rigours of the on-call system endured by the junior doctors, Jack still found it hard to walk away from the most desperately ill patients at the end of the day, and the junior staff knew that Dr Maynard was only ever a phone call away if they needed advice or help.
There had been one emergency operation, which had ultimately been unsuccessful and two other very ill patients had died - always distressing.
His last cup of coffee had been at 10pm the previous night, and he was more than ready for a break. He settled himself in the comfiest chair in the Doctors` lounge and stretched out, resting his legs on a nearby chair to make an impromptu bed.
Cradling a fresh cup of coffee in his hands, he took a few sips and closed his eyes for a moment, his brow furrowed as he mulled over the events of the last few days.
It had certainly been an exceptionally busy week at the San, which still catered for a fair few TB patients although most of the work now was general medicine for the inhabitants of the Gornetz Platz and its environs.
Later that day was a planned major operation, which would last at least three hours, and he still had his consultant reviews of each inpatient in his care before he could have lunch. Then he needed to hand over his patients to the incoming doctor before he scrubbed up for surgery........
At this point, he fell asleep and slept for nearly two hours before an apologetic nurse shook him gently on the shoulder and called "Dr Maynard ! Dr Maynard! I`m sorry to disturb you, but your wife phoned and asked me to remind you that she is expecting you home by 6.30pm this evening" .
"Oh Lord, what time is it now ?" he asked, before quickly draining the stone-cold cup of coffee in one noisy gulp as he sat up .
"It`s almost 1pm , I`m afraid, and you are due in Theatre at 2pm, Sir." the nurse replied timidly.
"Thank you for finding me- and managing to wake me !" he laughed, and made his way to the door." I would probably have slept till midnight if you hadn`t found me, and then Joey would have slain me !"
"Not to mention Dr Graves, who would be still waiting for "hand-over" !" she shot back respectfully."Dr Graves is in your office, Sir"
Jack made his way to the meticulously tidy office and found Phil Graves sitting comfortably in the easy chair opposite the desk. "Busy night, Jack?" he asked solicitously
"Pretty busy, but no major worries today, I`m glad to say !" and he filled in his colleague with all the updated details of each patient`s treatmemnt before making his way to Theatre, where he soon became fully absorbed in the complex and interesting task ahead of him.
The patient was just heading into the recovery room when Jack finished writing his notes in the surgical record and changed into his usual clothes.
All had gone very well, and Jack was feeling rather pleased with himself till he glanced at the clock and realised that he had only twenty minutes to get home before the deadline.
"Why Joey decided to have a dinner party tonight defeats me " he mumbled to himself as he shrugged on his warm coat and made his way to the car. “Oh for a quiet evening and a good night`s sleep!”
A voice called behind him "Dr Maynard ! Dr Maynard ! It`s urgent, please wait, Sir !" and he turned with some exasperation to see the same junior nurse who had woken him earlier. " Matron asked me to give you this !"
"Thank you, but I must rush or I shall be late!" he laughed, glancing at the note attached to the exquisitely wrapped large parcel, and drove home, still chuckling and glancing occasionally at the note put on top of the parcel.
"Dear Jack, whatever happens, don`t forget that today is yours and Joey`s wedding anniversary ! You hadn`t mentioned anything, so I took the liberty of buying a gift and wrapping it just in case you had forgotten..........."
"Matron`s always wide awake on every count!" he remarked out loud.
Jack opened the door of Freudesheim and nonchalantly entered the bedroom, where he fully expected to find Joey putting the finishing touches to her finery for the party. Jack handed over his parcel with a smile
Joey opened it, whilst Jack sat on the end of the bed, grinning widely at her expression of delighted surprise as she unwrapped a beautifully made couterie blouse in her favourite lime-green, and making a thankful mental note that Matron deserved at least one extra week`s paid holiday for saving his skin on his wedding anniversary !!
"Happy Anniversary, sweetheart!" he exclaimed, enveloping his wife in a bear-hug.
"Happy Anniversary yourself, my darling" Joey retorted, beaming, as she handed over an envelope with two plane tickets to Paris. "The publisher loved my new book, and sent me a hefty cheque ! You`ve been working much too hard, and you need a break. It`s all arranged; we leave on Saturday, and Jem and Madge are staying to cover the San and take care of the children........."
She felt Jack`s head rest on her shoulder, and when she glanced at his face, she laughed as she realised that he had fallen asleep already.
She carefully eased him onto their bed, covered him warmly with the quilt and made her way downstairs to greet their guests.
She was giggling as she announced "Ah, the joys of being a doctor`s wife ! Dr Maynard regrets that he is unable to attend his own wedding anniversary party due to extreme exhaustion !"
#2: Author: Róisín, Location: Gaillimh, EirePosted: Wed Apr 05, 2006 6:43 pm Lovely to get an insight into Jack - something that EBD so rarely gives us.
#3: Author: Susan, Location: CarlislePosted: Mon Apr 10, 2006 1:26 am Lovely caring Jack. Well done Matron.
