Evelyn Garland

If I were sick, I would want my granny to look after me because she is gentle and has sturdy hands. I would feel reassured if Granny was my nurse.

My granny grew up in the Congo and was four years old when she decided that she wanted to become a nurse. Granny’s auntie, called Lucy, had made her a cute little nurse’s outfit with a white apron and a red cross, which we still have. When she was 13, her mum and dad arranged for her to go into a hospital in the Congo to watch an operation. The doctor gave the gentleman an injection so he wouldn’t feel anything from his tummy downwards, but he was awake and his eyes were popping out of his head with fear. Granny knew it was going to be a mucky, messy job, but she still wanted to become a nurse.

Granny trained as a nurse in London in 1964. She wanted to work overseas in a mission hospital, so her boss gave her an interesting job on the children’s ward. That was when she met Papa. There was a medical student who was very good at telling fairy stories about princes and princesses to the children. Then one day, the Sister got the nurses together and asked, “Which one of you is encouraging that medical student to come up here? He’s obviously coming up because he fancies one of you.” Granny didn’t want to say it was her, so she sat quietly and probably felt embarrassed. She married that medical student, and they lived happily ever after.

Granny then decided to train as a midwife and went to Scotland for six months, where she had to watch 40 babies being delivered. She spent another six months training back in London, riding her bicycle around to people’s houses because, in those days, lots of babies were born at home.

Papa and Granny went out to Thailand to work in a hospital from 1972 to 1986. Many of the patients were very ill and there were all sorts of dreadful accidents. Once, a man came in after a big buffalo had taken a dislike to him and charged at him. Granny had to be ready for whatever came through the door and use basic methods, such as boiling instruments in a big saucepan, instead of using advanced equipment.

When Granny came back to England, she carried on being a nurse until it was time to retire. She worked in care homes, at a specialist school, cared for her own relatives, and enjoyed it all. She was even able to go to China to give talks and meet medical staff in hospitals.

Of course, there were hard parts about being a nurse, and sometimes people were very sad. My Granny’s top tip is not to worry about things that you can’t do anything about. She also said not to bring your work home with you, which is good because I have a lot of homework to do.