Launch

So it turns out not so much waiting! After anticipating an extended period of being on the “reserve” list for 2 different hospitals, I have now been called up to active duty. I received an email with my rota for the Nightingale Hospital yesterday morning. The normal pattern is 2 x 12 hr day shifts, followed by 2 x 12 hour night shifts, 4 days off, then back to the start. I’m starting part way through the block, so have 2 night shifts (starting tomorrow – Friday), 4 days off, then will start day shifts next Thursday.

I’m feeling pretty nervous about it. But I found out today that I have been allocated to the “blue team”. We (scientists) have been put in teams of 5 or 6 so we can cover all ICU wards 24/7 between us. My team of 6 “happens” to include the only other person I knew before the training began (the only other gait analyst). We get on well and he has already worked at the Nightingale for 2 weeks. I’m meeting up with him and the rest of my team tomorrow before the shift starts – which makes me feel a whole lot better about it all. It means I can ask lots of questions! Thankful for this evidence that God is already at work.

I’ll head to London tomorrow morning. I need to go into the hospital sometime before my shift starts to be fit tested for the face masks. They need to make sure I don’t have an unusually-shaped face! If I do, then I need a special mask… Not quite sure how you take it if someone tells you your face has an unusual shape! They have arranged accommodation for me in a hotel nearby (next door to the one I stayed in last time). They have currently booked a room there for me for a month, so I can leave things there even if I come back to Oxford when I’m not on shift. The rest of the blue team are also staying either there or the hotel next door, which is good too.

I’ve been reminded again about our vision verse by a few people this week. Please pray that when I’m tempted to feel overwhelmed, I would remember to rely on God rather than myself. A friend helpfully sent me a link to the song “Whom shall I fear (God of Angel Armies) by Chris Tomlin. The chorus has been going round and round in my head (mostly in a good way) – “I know who goes before me. I know who stands behind. The God of angel armies is always by my side. The one who reigns forever, he is a friend of mine. The God of angel armies is always by side”.