Leeches, breech births and heroin … it’s the usual mix of medical emergencies and social commentary in another festive special that yanks on the heartstrings
The good news about the leech, says Dr Turner, “is it’s a sizeable specimen, so you won’t need more than the one.” Thank goodness. I thought he was about to put the whole jar of leeches – medical grade, collected from Barts that morning – on to poor Lucille’s bruised and swollen eye, and that the Call the Midwife Christmas special (BBC One) was about to take a horrifying turn. I can deal with a bit of blood – you have to with this show – but there’s a difference between birthing matters (“I have just lost the biggest mucus plug you’ve ever seen!” announces Mrs Howells, soon to be mother-of-five) and writhing blood-suckers, about to be attached within the vicinity of an eyeball.
The black eye is a hen night injury – a dangerous combination of the Nonnatus House stairs and Sister Hilda’s rum punch. Sister Hilda is recovering with aspirin; for Lucille, it’s leeches, treatment “from the 3rd century BC!” says Sister Monica Joan, with glee. “I feel sick just looking at them,” says trainee Nancy, while Lucille quivers with horror. After barely an hour, the leech is stuffed; by this point on Christmas Day, we might all know how it feels.
