eldery man

"He has no relatives, no carer," the radiological technician said, "He's all alone by himself."

I looked at the elderly man lying there on the stretcher which slowly retreated from deep inside the body imaging scanner. He had all sorts of tubes attached to his body, including a catheter tube. I could not see his face, only part of the dark blue hospital gown that I recognised from when dad wore it around four years ago.

Poor man, I thought... All alone by himself undergoing such an exhausting and emotionally daunting scan. How he must feel deep inside. What is his story, i wondered. Why is he all alone here in the hospital when, as far as I can tell, he is in poor health and cannot move by himself? Perhaps one day that could be me lying there, all alone, all by myself...

The technician called a few idle nurses and carers who were standing in the corridor to help him move the elderly man from the body scanner to his hospital bed. I watched as they slowly wheeled him away.

Silently, I wished him well... Silently, I hoped he has family and friends who will soon come and take his loneliness away...