Source: JL / The Pharmaceutical Journal
Different day, different store, same story, or so I thought as I journey to start the day
In a mist of the prescriptions, patients, staff, ringing sounds of the telephone
Rummaging through the drawers in quest of some metformin
All the while hoping for a change
Here comes a woman, face shaped with helplessness and resign
“May I speak to the pharmacist please?”
“Yes, sure, I am the pharmacist”
Guiding her towards the safety of an enclosed room
That she may speak her truth freely
I utter: “How can I help you?”
Bringing her to a flood of tears as she gasps for air to speak
Voice trembling
“I think I have overdosed on paracetamol,
“This is the second time”
Compassion flooding through my veins
Wanting to reach out, to speak life and love to her core
And then she speaks her truth, she speaks it ever so freely
As I fight back tears
Wear the sleeve of bravery on her account
Dialling 999
That she may be seen
Not just physiologically but from the inside out
That I may also look, from the inside out
Sophie Oduyale, graduate teaching assistant and part-time PhD student, University of Reading
Sophie’s piece received a special mention in our 2019 writing competition ‘The Patient Who Changed My Practice’. Read more entries here.