Donal's haiku t-shirt, when it was still a work in progress!
My name is Donal and I’m a writer and translator, and was also a very keen walker before I sustained a spinal injury, the result of an infection of the spine. Now due to a delayed discharge, I’ve been in hospital for 16 months, spending seven of those months in the National Spinal Injuries Unit at Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow.
Prior to being transferred to the unit, I was in a Neurology ward for just over two months. While the staff were exceptionaI and I managed to keep myself entertained by listening to audio books, including all of Joyce’s Ulysses, having access to Horatio’s Garden Scotland was to transform my hospital experience.
Upon arrival at the spinal unit, I was given a wheelchair — which allowed me mobility, and I have to say, liberty. It meant I could escape from the noise of the ward and get out into the garden. The nurses and doctors were (again!) wonderful, but the garden was a place where I could get some fresh air, as well as enjoy the beauty of the flowers and plants. The tranquillity was very welcome too.
I often went out to read and when visitors came, I tended to meet them in the garden and not by my bedside. It was lovely to share the space, the pods, and the garden with family and friends.
The live music and workshops offered in Horatio’s Garden were wonderful too. I loved them. I hadn’t held a paintbrush since second year at secondary school — so decades ago now! Initially, doing watercolours, or a mosaic, or marbling, or screen printing, were all quite daunting prospects but the workshop facilitators were great and very supportive. Fellow participants also ensured that a friendly atmosphere was guaranteed.
Before long, I was trying out cyanotypes, mandala stone painting, screen printing and making a mosaic; enjoying the company of the facilitators and fellow patients, and buzzing, no less, when first attempts turned out to be semi-decent! It was all very encouraging.
Soon, letter by letter, I was printing one of my own haiku onto a very cool t-shirt provided by the organiser, and itching for the following Saturday to arrive to complete this three-line task. Artworks followed that combined watercolours, inks, and charcoals with a single word stencilled onto the paper. As in the garden itself, it was possible in these workshops to forget you were in hospital; to be distracted from any pain, or momentary discomfort in your wheelchair.
You didn’t have to stay for the whole workshop either, you could dip into them as you wished, which meant that if you were expecting visitors, you could begin something at the workshop, then go and see your family, and return before the workshop finished. It was all a great distraction from life in the ward: the x-rays, injections, and whatnot. It did me so much good, I intend to continue my artwork once I’m discharged too.
I’ve been collaborating with one of the facilitators, Sarah Diver Lang, to create prints and posters featuring her images and my poems, each inspired by the garden. I’m hoping that this project will continue to grow. I’ve been invited back by Horatio’s Garden to offer writing workshops and as I’ve always thought it is important to give back, I look forward to returning soon.
I’m sure I will never forget this garden. I was out there at every opportunity, was probably the last person to leave the garden each evening and return to the ward. The pods meant that if it was raining or cold, you could nip inside and be in a warm place, even in the evening or in bad weather. I’ve actually been back visiting the hospital and Horatio’s Garden three times a week recently as I’m participating in a 12-week research project on mobility. It’s been lovely to see Head Gardener Chelsea and all the volunteers again.
I recommend that everyone who comes to the spinal unit gets themselves out into Horatio’s Garden as much as possible, as soon as possible. It does you immense good simply to come out and enjoy the garden on a regular basis. It’s an unforgettable place.
