Since I first started this blog, I've always vowed to post the good, the bad and the ugly. And this post is the good...
I was lying in bed in our half an hour break between Morning Meeting and first group and dreading the beginning of 'Feel Good Friday' when one of the staff came into my room asking why I was in bed when I'd asked her to sign me out. I had no idea what she meant. Then one of the OT staff came to my room with my sign-out sheet telling me that he'd been told by staff that I could go on the trip to a nearby city centre (therapy leave on 15minute obs has to be discussed and agreed on by staff). I couldn't believe it, I jumped out of bed (wearing black leggings, a black top and oversized jumper) put my boots on and grabbed a bag then signed out. As I got to the ward door one of the staff pointed at me and my stomach fell through when I suddenly panicked he was going to either change his mind or say he hadn't realised I was on 15 minute obs but he just pointed at me and said 'behave, trouble.' I was so excited as we walked to the bus stop at the bottom of the road the Hospital is on and I called my Mum to tell her the good news! We (6 patients, 3 from my ward, 3 from the low secure ward upstairs and 4 staff) got the bus straight through to the city centre. The three of us on my ward all had bus passes to get on for free and our passes get a 'carer' on for free too so we all buddied up with the 3 others to get them on for free so that only the staff had to pay. We went to a few shops and I was absolutely boiling so I bought a skirt, shoes and sunglasses from the New Look sale and changed in their changing rooms. Then we went to a few more shops before finding a pizza place beneath a cinema. It was so embarrassing when the staff said we had 10 people and the waitresses started pushing all these tables together; I'd sort of imagined that us patients would sit at one and the staff would sit at another. But no, I ended up sat in between a girl from my ward and one male NA with the three other staff opposite us. Cosy! It was actually nice though. We all had a laugh and the food was yummy!
We went to a few more shops before finally getting the wrong bus back; we ended up having to go to the town centre where the Hospital is near and then getting another bus back to the Hospital.
