Hear For Jay

Hear For Jay

Short Play By Paul McCann

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A conversation between two community nurses who are trying to put together an action plan in their attempt to bring about a change in the life of Jay , a young aboriginal boy who has some disabilities. Jay has some permanent hearing loss which is affecting his language and learning development and is finding it hard to cope. Hs has low self-esteem and feels isolated in his regional community. Chat and Mac are two nurses who are part of a team of  health professionals who are trying to put back the pieces in Jays life so that  he can hear and talk better than ever and as a result have the confidence to walk tall and look the world in the eye .

 

Scene – Outside the door of a small community house 

Props – Radio playing in back ground . , 

Actors - Characters 

Chat  – Community  Nurse  
Mac  –  Community  Nurse   . 
  
Setting . 
t is evening outside a  home . People come and go, a few dogs bark . Two nurses stand drinking from cups of coffee. Both have a bag in their hand with nurses stuff , bandages ,  medications , some books including daily records , and report journals . 
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Dialogue Begins 

Chat – “Well how was your day Mac. . Any problems ?

Mac – “ Oh just some new issues with young Jay .

Chat - - His ear infection ? .”

Mac- “ –‘Well the original ear infection wasn’t picked up early enough and now Jay has some permanent hearing loss . “

Chat – Oh no , I wasn’t told about that .”

Mac – Well , you’ve just come back from holiday . So I should give you an update .. How was your overseas trip anyway ?”

Chat -”Really great , it went too fast though .

Mac-“ Well its good to have you back ,I’ve been doing double shifts around the community while you were away and I’m exhausted ”

Chat – So what’s happening with Jay ?”

Mac-“ Now that’s he has permanent hearing loss that has made a huge  impact on him ‘

Chat - “ In what way ?.”

Mac – “In my opinion Jay now has two disabilities . Physical and intellectual  “

Chat – “Why is that ?”

Mac – “He can’t hear what the teacher is saying at school because of his hearing loss and now his language and literacy skills have deteriorated. His  speech is impaired now and other issues have been noticed .

Chat – “That sounds serious .  Are there any friends at school can help ?”

Mac – “No . Jay is unable to communicate to anyone there and lately he has shown some disrupted behaviour . I’m not sure what can be done at this stage . “

Chat – “Well the first place to start is to organize a formal hearing test for Jay and for an assessment to made on the level of his hearing loss and those results would determine what kind of hearing aids Jay requires . I’m sure after he has some improvement to his hearing Jay would start to settle .”

Mac – ‘That’s sounds like a good idea . I heard that Cochlear implants are really good and they could be a solution . Another thing in their favour is that they don’t require as much maintenance and cleaning as the normal hearing aids “

Chat- “ Once Jay can hear better , I’m sure his literacy and learning skills would also get much better . Maybe after some speech therapy Jay could begin to live a normal life again after 12 months . His self confidence would grow and chances are he would make some friends at school . “

Mac- “ Before you went away on holidays you had mentioned about some deaths in the community . Well during your absence there were some more and I’m wondering if anyone has spoke to Jay to see how he is feeling about that .  There is a kind of faith healer in the community I’m told who has known to have helped people in this area . I need to speak to Jays Mother also to see how see is and if anything can be done to help her of Jay cope with the recent loss in the community  “

Chat – “I will try to mention that on the evening shift tonight however the last time I brought that subject up Jay withdrew and went into his bedroom . “

Mac – “There are some progress notes that state Jay has is not attending the clinic for his regular check-ups anymore .“

Chat – “I have a thought that both these issues are related . It was stated by someone who I know at the clinic that Jay new someone that was having treatment at the clinic and he suddenly died . “

 

Mac- “You might have a point there “

Chat –“Maybe he is frightened about the people or the medicine they are giving there “

Mac – “Also while you were gone on your trip  the community transport bus was set on fire so that also could be a factor why Jay isn’t going to the clinic .’Maybe he has no way of getting there . It is a long walk from his home .”

“Chat – ‘We should report all that to the supervisor. There must be some community service available in this case . “

Mac- “I’m thinking that someone from the mental health team should come to do an assessment on Jay .“

Chat – That’s a good idea , We should also mention about transport to the supervisor and see if one of the community nurses can bring him to the clinic for his check ups .”

Mac – “I tend to think that Jay might be going through some grief and loss issues with the deaths in community . Its hard to get him to speak due to his speech impairment and hearing loss ..”

Chat –“One of the church minister’s might be able to spend some time with  Jay .”

Mac – “It might be a good idea to talk with the elder first maybe he could organize a tribal ceremony  to restore peace in the community after all  the deaths that have occurred .”

Mac -“ The problem in small communities is that every one lives so close and when one suffer a loss they all suffer the same loss as a community  . ‘  :

Chat – “Another thing I needed to talk to you about is Jay’s weight loss . I’ve been keeping a weight chart for the last six months and Jay has lost 3 kilos each month for the last six months .”

Mac – ‘ “You’re so good to have picked that up .I’ve been doing a food and fluid input as well as a bowel chart but I never thought of a weight chart .”

Chat-“ Overall Jay has lost 18 kilos the last six months .“

Mac - “We should make a suggestion for the dietician to assess where Jay is at . Then a  nutrition plan could be made for Jay to regain some of his eight loss . Those food supplement  drinks are really good for that .”

Chat – ‘I actually think his weight loss is due to loss of appetite and its behaviour related . Jay has a very low self-esteem and I have noticed he withdraws a lot and isolates himself in his bedroom . I tend to think he needs some intervention by a social worker as well as his  Mother. “

“Mac – “The elder is also someone who can be of good influence .”

Chat – ‘Have you noticed anything else in my absence ?”

Mac – ‘The house has been a mess . I think Jay’s Mother needs either some respite or the provision of some domestic help with cleaning and cooking  During the week I noticed most of the food in the cupboards was out of date and the fridge doesn’t seem to be working . In the shower and toilet , water isn’t working real good and the floors disgusting .”

Chat- Did you document all that ?”

Mac- “Of course I did but nothing has been done yet “

Chat –“I think its so sad to see a lot of the houses around the community falling apart , Many are in need of repair . “

Mac – I think we should speak to the elder and ask for a meeting with the housing authority . There should be a solution to this problem .A letter to the local member also might trigger a response .”

Chat –‘ Jay has so many issues  at present with his disabilities and we need to be doing more to make it easier for him and his family  . Maybe we could see if some home schooling could be provided , or other resources like a computer to help with his homework . It might be an incentive for his learning abilities during the time he’s waiting for his hearing aids  .

 

Mac- ‘One of the aboriginal community nurses in head office  used to be a school teacher . I wonder if we could talk to her about home schooling or other resources for Jay . “

Chat –“ Its always good to get advice . She might have some other ideas that could help Jay .“

Mac – “Remember if we’re going to talk to other people about Jay there are w privacy and confidentially laws .“

Chat ‘-“All that’s ok because  she works in head office so she already knows all about Jay’s history  anyway .”

Mac – “Jay is still a minor at 13 so with what ever we do , we have to gain consent from his Mother on some issues like this .‘

Chat – ‘ That’s true . Maybe we can talk to the supervisor and ask for an update on Jays action plan .”

Mac – I’ll do some documentation and hand it over tomorrow before I start my shift . Hopefully if we all work together as a team we can achieve a measurable outcome for Jay ‘”

Chat - “It’s a long road ahead but we have to start somewhere . An action plan will be one way that we can make that journey along with Jay .”

Mac – Its all about prioritising and evaluating . Lets arrange a meeting if possible with some other staff and see what other interventions can be made .‘

Chat ‘ – “ Great , that’s the way to go for sure . .I’m sure there will be many questions to be answered .

 

The End