The male paramedic, Danny, gave her a sympathetic nod. ‘We’ll have a wee look at you in just a sec. Let’s do what we can to get Minnie off the floor first, shall we?’
Gladys nodded. ‘Absolutely. I was just saying earlier to my Fred, I should have called an ambulance this morning when she fell up at the shops, but Minnie would have none of it. I shouldn’t have listened. I mean, anything could have happened to her after that. She could have one of those blood clots that kill you instantly. I’m sure that’s what happened to Elvis, wasn’t it? Or was he the one that got stuck on the loo?’
‘Earmuffs. Please give me earmuffs,’ Minnie whispered in Lauren’s ear and the young woman’s face creased into the loveliest smile.
For the next ten minutes, the paramedics worked quickly and efficiently, checking off concerns, until they were confident that Minnie was fit to be moved. Only then did they help her to her feet, and after pausing for a second or two to let her head settle, she was steady enough to lead the way through to the living room. There, she took a seat on the couch, and Lauren sat down next to her.
‘Right, Minnie, we have a couple of choices here. Your blood pressure is a little on the low side, but not at a level that suggests any immediate treatment is required. Other than that, there’s nothing in any of the tests we’ve done that’s causing me concern, although I do have a slight worry about the fact that you’ve fallen twice in the same day.’
Minnie was very calm, but direct. ‘But I did tell you that was a trip this morning. I was going from a very warm room out into the cold, and I just got a bit flustered and missed my footing.’
‘Okay,’ Lauren said sympathetically. ‘And I just want to check again that at no point in either that fall or this afternoon’s faint did you bang your head?’
‘She definitely didn’t,’ Gladys interjected from Minnie’s armchair, where she had seemingly taken residence.
‘I definitely didn’t,’ Minnie repeated, trying her best to be patient.
Lauren made eye contact with Danny, and a subliminal agreement passed between them, evident with two almost indiscernible nods of their heads.
‘Okay, well, in that case, we can either take you in with us so that the doctors can check you over again, just to be of the safe side?—’
‘Absolutely not,’ Minnie countered.
‘I had a feeling you were going to say that,’ Lauren replied, her voice kind and understanding. ‘The other option is that I can get you to sign a form, saying you’re refusing care, and that you understand the risks of that.’
Minnie didn’t need to be asked twice. ‘I’ll sign the form.’
‘Are you sure, Minnie? You definitely feel well enough and there is nothing you’re not disclosing to us?’
‘She doesn’t drink, if that’s what you’re insinuating,’ Gladys said, with just a touch of indignation.
‘I don’t think they were insinuating that at all, Gladys,’ Minnie assured her, while also thinking a wee sherry wouldn’t go amiss right now.
Minnie suddenly realised that she had an ace up her sleeve that would settle this. ‘Anyway, my granddaughter is coming over. She’s a nurse at Glasgow Central on the elderly care ward. She’ll be here within the next hour and she’ll be staying here tonight. You can’t get better care than that. And I promise we’ll be doing nothing more than sitting on the sofa.’
Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted Gladys’s interested gaze, and knew she’d want to question every detail of her plans. Minnie hoped, for once, that she’d say nothing.
‘You’re absolutely right – that’s definitely the kind of care you want on hand,’ Lauren agreed. ‘Okay, I’ll note that on the form as well.’
It took a couple of minutes to get the paperwork all done, and then Minnie walked them to the door, feeling even more steady on her feet now.
‘Thank you for coming so soon. I feel very lucky that you responded so quickly,’ she said, as she opened the front door.
‘You definitely were,’ Danny said, patting his jacket, before pulling a set of keys out of his pocket that Minnie assumed were for the ambulance she could now see was parked at the end of her path. ‘We just happened to be passing on our way back to the hospital after a false alarm. And you got us in the calm before the storm too. It’ll be chaos tonight and God knows how long you would have waited. We do what we can but… cutbacks.’ He let the words trail off with a shrug.
‘Anyway, nice to meet you, Minnie, and you take care of yourself and take it easy. Especially tonight. Make sure you get plenty of rest,’ Lauren instructed her.
‘I certainly will,’ she assured them, as they went off down the path. She was sure Henry would hear them going and feel much better about the situation. He must have been worried sick.
She closed the door behind them. Right, only Gladys to deal with now.
‘Gladys, thank you so very much for taking such good care of me. I really do appreciate it. You’ve been an absolute godsend today and I don’t know what I’d have done without you.’
Gladys beamed, bless her, and Minnie sensed that the need to be seen and appreciated was at the very heart of this woman’s ceaseless chat.
‘You’re ever so welcome, Minnie. Just glad I was here. Again. I could just give my Fred a call and tell him I’m going to wait here with you until your granddaughter comes along…’
Minnie decided just to cut to the quick. ‘Gladys, that was a bold-faced lie, because I just wanted to give them the confidence to leave me here.’
