Ravenor Bullen
New in Town
- Messages
- 15
- Location
- Surabaya, Java
I recently had the melancholy duty of visiting a dear friend in hospital in our town of Surabaya. He had contracted dengue fever but was on the path to recovery when I visited him.
The ward in which he had been placed was quite full of cases of the myriad diseases of the Tropics – malaria, typhoid, typhus, trench foot, etc. Most of the patients looked comfortable enough and a few were sleeping when I arrived.
My friend was in a corner near to an open French window which gave out onto the hospital’s splendid central lawn. The Darmo Hospital of Surabaya was built in 1919 by the distinguished Dutch architect Ir. Citroen and was an admirable piece of colonial Dutch architecture.
He was in quite good spirits and his weeks of fever had subsided over the last few days. He was pleased to see me for a chat and I brought him some grapes, and several packets of his favourite cigarettes.
Clamoring for a taste of normality, he immediately broke open a packet and proceeded to smoke one. Preferring my pipe I filled a bowl and before we knew it we were ensconced in a discussion of daily affairs and gossip and were having a gay time.
About ten minutes into our chinwag a rather haughty matron came into the ward and barked at us. She told us that smoking was not permitted in the ward and would we put out our offending smokes.
My friend replied, in a respectful way, that he had always been permitted to smoke on previous stays at the hospital. The matron retorted that a new rule had been passed by a city ordinance since the beginning of the year and that smoking was no longer permitted in the wards.
I must say my friend and I were quite flabbergasted. The very time that a visitor might arrive for a friendly catch-up with a patient and a desire to create some sense of well-being and normality, and one was not permitted to smoke! My patient friend pointed out in friendly terms that neither he nor any of the patients in this ward were in here for TB or bronchial complaints, that none of the other patients had complained, and what harm on Earth could come from a friendly smoke? She apologized for the ruling but did point out that if my friend wished to be wheeled out to the terrace we could continue to smoke there. Well, he did wish it, and it was duly done after a nurse was summoned.
We sat out there for quite a time and it wasn’t at all unpleasant, but what if the much hoped fall rains of the Wet Season were already upon us? What then would we have done?
We both fulminated for a while over the silly rules that governments pass these days.
The ward in which he had been placed was quite full of cases of the myriad diseases of the Tropics – malaria, typhoid, typhus, trench foot, etc. Most of the patients looked comfortable enough and a few were sleeping when I arrived.
My friend was in a corner near to an open French window which gave out onto the hospital’s splendid central lawn. The Darmo Hospital of Surabaya was built in 1919 by the distinguished Dutch architect Ir. Citroen and was an admirable piece of colonial Dutch architecture.
He was in quite good spirits and his weeks of fever had subsided over the last few days. He was pleased to see me for a chat and I brought him some grapes, and several packets of his favourite cigarettes.
Clamoring for a taste of normality, he immediately broke open a packet and proceeded to smoke one. Preferring my pipe I filled a bowl and before we knew it we were ensconced in a discussion of daily affairs and gossip and were having a gay time.
About ten minutes into our chinwag a rather haughty matron came into the ward and barked at us. She told us that smoking was not permitted in the ward and would we put out our offending smokes.
My friend replied, in a respectful way, that he had always been permitted to smoke on previous stays at the hospital. The matron retorted that a new rule had been passed by a city ordinance since the beginning of the year and that smoking was no longer permitted in the wards.
I must say my friend and I were quite flabbergasted. The very time that a visitor might arrive for a friendly catch-up with a patient and a desire to create some sense of well-being and normality, and one was not permitted to smoke! My patient friend pointed out in friendly terms that neither he nor any of the patients in this ward were in here for TB or bronchial complaints, that none of the other patients had complained, and what harm on Earth could come from a friendly smoke? She apologized for the ruling but did point out that if my friend wished to be wheeled out to the terrace we could continue to smoke there. Well, he did wish it, and it was duly done after a nurse was summoned.
We sat out there for quite a time and it wasn’t at all unpleasant, but what if the much hoped fall rains of the Wet Season were already upon us? What then would we have done?
We both fulminated for a while over the silly rules that governments pass these days.
