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Pain it may be, but she needs to walk more

  • Posted on June 13, 2011 at 9:06 am
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This latest foot sore, has basically had Mom tied to a wheeler, rather than her walking. Since about Tuesday afternoon, she’s been complaining about the pain in her foot, so we’ve used the Wheeler, rather than the walker. Now, it seems to be from some form of infection, and the way her small toe has curled under the other toe. Could also be Arthritis setting in, which she has a lot of.

The downside to keeping her comfortable, to avoid the pain, is that now her ability to get on the toilet, is becoming far more difficult. She is forgetting, or unable to focus enough, to get herself into position, to sit down on the toilet, or even on the couch.

My natural instinct is to spare her the pain, but I think that is perhaps increasing her decline. Maybe, it is better to be a bit more resistant to that temptation, and allow her to have some pain, so as to not lose her mobility. I mean, I don’t want her to suffer, but without her mobility, she will decline far more rapidly. It won’t help her other functions, like memory, like co-ordination.  It is hard enough on her, having to be changed and such.

Question is, can I be that way?

I am a softy, but it is a matter of doing what is best. More walking can keep her muscles moving, can help in her bowel movements, and maybe even her urinary output. In short, letting her have some pain, might actually prevent , or lessen, worse complications.

This really isn’t easy.

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This Is Not An Easy Job

  • Posted on April 17, 2011 at 8:54 pm
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This entry is part 20 of 24 in the series Quality of Life

To be honest, I think I am losing it.

Day starts off with a phone call at 7:55 am to tell me that the regular worker is delayed, won’t be here till 10am.   Okay, I am glad they called, as it does help.

Problem is, why do they not have a stand by worker to fill in when another worker books off? Seriously, why play the shuffle game, screwing everyone else around?

Today was my one sleep in day. Had things planned, like going to hear Ignatieff speak, which got screwed up.  I couldn’t sleep in, because I can’t leave her in bed until 10am, when she needs a change, needs her breakfast and pills.  So much for sleeping in.  Next scheduled sleep in, now five days away, if I am lucky.

I am nervous, on edge constantly now. I yell at the dog, am unable to concentrate on just plain writing, never mind of thinking of what to write. I am unable to sleep a night through anymore. I wake up tired, wake up on edge, angry.

Every whimper, every cough, sends me into a spasm. I want to yell, to scream to have here stop it, to not keep shoving juice into her mouth, when she already has some. She is forgetting, or I don’t know what, but she’ll hold the juice in her mouth, put more in, and wind up choking.

There goes any chance of concentrating.

It is just, like a constant nightmare of small things, that grate on the nerves. This is what it is really like. I know better too, I know it isn’t her fault, that her mind is slowly loosing its ability to focus, to control her actions.  I know too, that my own mind is losing its control, that my hands are shaking, my eyes are becoming blurry quicker in the day.

Simple little things, do matter. They may all sound so simple, so unconsequential, that most people wonder what all the fuss is about. Thing is, life is full of just little things, and when they are constantly wearing at you, when you can’t even grab one single damn morning to sleep in without having to cope with them, they aren’t so little.

This really is why Home Support should be controlled, and regulated, not like it is now. Companies look to the bottom line, not to the needs of those they serve. That one little thing, having substitutes on call, and using them for the patients the regular worker goes to, is minor, but it makes a difference. It wasn’t my worker who booked off, but I am the one paying the price.  Just as that workers patients are.

And what, spreading the misery around is a good thing?   NOT!

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Last Second Substitutes

  • Posted on April 14, 2011 at 8:13 am
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This entry is part 12 of 12 in the series Making A Difference

First off, thanks to Mary Anne for actually calling me, to let me know that our regular worker was sick today.  That helped avoid a bit of stress.  For that, I am appreciative.

The bigger issue is, that substitutes.  If BCS can get a handle on at least informing Patients of last minute changes, then a third of the battle if won.  It makes it easier when you KNOW someone different is coming.

However, like anything dealing with people, there is the quality of care.  It is as big an issue, as is getting the care.   Yes, we need more Doctors, Nurses, Technicians, and Home Workers, but we need QUALIFIED PERSONNEL.

This is what gets me about our society today. We expect so much, but in less time.  IF a training process took a year to complete, in the past, why does it only take a month today?

Think about that. I mean honestly, how can you cram a whole year’s training into one single month?

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A Minor Reprieve

  • Posted on March 24, 2011 at 8:03 am
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Thanks to some regularity in workers, in the routine, the shaking has subsided to just three episodes yesterday. The choking was a bit less, though not as much as I’d hope for. The questions of who is coming, when are they coming, has gone down to just a mere three last night.

Bottom line, is that this is day four, since BCS opted to change Mom’s schedule. Only NOW, has the impact become manageable.  This is what BCS needs to understand. When they screw around like this, it doesn’t go away within an hour or two. It lingers for days, which in turn adds wear & tear onto a body that is already under stress.

Caregiving is not easy, scheduling multiple workers isn’t easy, but it has to be done, with the Patient needs in mind, not the needs of the scheduler or corporate entity.

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The Body Grows Tired

  • Posted on February 25, 2011 at 11:05 am
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This entry is part 17 of 24 in the series Quality of Life

One minute you are fighting with a lack of bowel movements, then it is a bout of wondering why the urine output is so much less, than normal.   Blood tests show nothing out of the ordinary, and yet her body continues to throw spasms.

It is worrisome, but many say, well she is 93, what do you expect.

Truth is, I don’t know what to expect. Not even sure I really want to know, but then, I do, because how else can I prepare?  A catch 22 for sure, and it is wearing me down. How it must make her feel, I can’t even begin to imagine.

Like this morning, going to the chesterfield, she mentions that there is a van across the street, and people working there.  Problem is, no van, no people there.  How do you say no, that isn’t so?

Then the whole urine output issue.  I mean it was hard to keep up with her, in changing the depends, the nightshirts, and towels.  At least one full change each day, in addition to the first one in the morning.  Now, I even had one day where I was actually able to skip laundry.  I mean all there was, was the morning wash clothes/towels.  No soaker pad from the night, no towel from the night, and just a nightshirt, that wasn’t wet, just changed.

Yet yesterday was like flood gates had opened, but today, so far, it is like being in the middle of the desert.  Bone dry.

Welcome to care giving.

It is these type of changes, that only re-inforce the need for consistent home support workers. They are an important link in keeping the primary caregiver informed of subtle changes. Something a substitute cannot do, simply because they are unfamilar with the state.

By having our regular workers, I have been informed of some changes, which in turn made me pay more attention for them, and subsequently led to me informing our Doctor. Tests are being run, to see what could be causing these issues, and if there is something, well maybe we have caught it in time.  This is the reason I am so adamant of having consistent home support workers.

They can spot changes that no substitute could even imagine.

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Doing the Laundry

  • Posted on November 15, 2010 at 11:11 am
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At the best of times, I doubt if doing Laundry is gonna top one’s list of favorites past times. I know it isn’t mine, but it is an essential tool, in fighting the spread of infection, of adding to health risks.   Too bad that some home support workers, and BCS, don’t take these things into account.

On a GOOD DAY, I will do only ONE load of laundry.  IF it is a bad day (usually when a substitute home worker is sent) I will wind up doing TWO, if not THREE, full loads of laundry.

What is a full load for me?

  • 2 facecloths
  • 2 hand towels
  • 2 night shirts
  • 1 pair of ankle socks
  • 1 large soaker pad (about 4′ x 4′)
  • 1 Large bath sheet
  • 1 Housecoat.

When there are additional loads, they generally will contain the same items, sometimes more facecloths, hand towels, depending on whether or not another application of prescription cream is needed.   The Soaker Pad and Bath Sheet can sometimes be doubled as well, as can additional ‘spillage’ towels.

The only item, not in secondary loads, are the Ankle socks, but they are usually replaced by additional towels.

Doesn’t seem like much, yet take into account that one cannot use the fast wash cycle, because other than the hand towels, most are soiled by urine or fecal matter.  You have to run them through a longer cycle, to simply insure everything gets cleaned and disinfected. PLUS, towels (especially bath sheets) always take longer to dry.

Figure it out, a wash cycle is about an hour, dryer cycle is about 90 minutes.  There are 2½ hours of electrical use per day, doubled & even tripled, on bad days.  IT ADDS UP, JUST CHECK MY HYDRO BILL.

That doesn’t take into account the time involved in doing the laundry, or in folding them once done.  It is time consuming, which means other things get pushed aside, especially when an added load or two is required.  So, when home support workers, needlessly add to that burden, it becomes not just costly, money wise, but time wise. AND TIME IS VERY PRECIOUS WHEN CARING FOR A SENIOR.

Think about it, because that is JUST for one person. There are two others living here, which means we still have to fit in, normal laundry for day to day use. Like clothes for both David & Myself.   And I haven’t even taken into account linen, such as bed sheets.

Bed Sheets are usually done once every two weeks, unless the soaker pads didn’t do their job. So that mean in an average two weeks, we would do about 15 loads of laundry.  IF only we had a few of those so called average weeks, it would be good.  Rarely do we have a week go by, when we aren’t doing at least 10 loads per 7 days.

Somehow, those weeks when the laundry is more than 7 loads per 7 days, is when substitute home support workers attend Mom.  So far, I rarely manage to do just 7 loads per week.  Kind of tells it all, doesn’t it?

This is the reality of caring for an older person, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

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