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The Process of Dying

  • Posted on January 21, 2012 at 10:03 am

Yesterday was one of those days.  You get frustrated because your life revolves around watching someone slowly dying and you know, there is nothing you can do about it.  You are helpless in preventing Death from achieving its goal, so when things that you can control, are thrown out of whack, you lash out.

The problem isn’t that people are uncaring, it is that Business is more concerned about the bottom line, than about the people that GIVE them that bottom line.  From the consumer who buys their products / services, to those who help sell the products or provide the services.

When those you answer to, are more concerned about money, than people, then why should they care?

They aren’t being paid to do that, and let’s be honest, we ALL have our own headaches to contend with.

Yet I still Believe that WE have the power to change that. I know the concept of One Person, One Vote, seems archaic today, but then, nearly half of us don’t bother to make that choice. WE STAY HOME.

AND THAT IS WHAT HAS LED TO THIS CORPORATE CONTROL OVER OUR VERY LIVES.

Beacon Community Services has some damn good people working for them, but they are being burned out, and it isn’t because the job is hard, or difficult.  It is because they CARE.   And when you care, it takes a huge emotional toll on you, more so when the people you work for, simply don’t care.

People like Trinity, Tracy, Yvette, Billie, THEY CARE but then we have others like Edna, Rose and many many more, who are there for the paycheque only.  They have closed themselves off, for whatever reason.   It comes from an operation that simply wants bodies to fill the gaps, unconcerned if they are qualified or not.

When you reach this stage of life, to have to be at home 24/7 watching the person who raised you, slowly dying, as age takes its toll, you realize that all the things she taught you, no longer hold sway.

When I grew up, you could rely on Government for many things.  IF a business was mistreating its workers, they would insure it stopped, or was corrected. When you went to buy groceries, you never had to worry about tainted foods, or expired foods, because Government insured that didn’t happen.

No, it wasn’t perfect, there were instances when things slipped through the cracks, but they were rare, not common place. Today FOOD & PRODUCT RECALLS are a daily occurrence. It isn’t that there are just more products, more food being consumed, it is that Government has abdicated its responsibility to the very people who they are supposed to be watching over.

Business is an Entity.   Government is elected by People, and is supposed to be responsible to US.

As you sit by, watching a person dying, bit by bit, you see how the erosion of Government Responsibility impacts you more than if you were in your 30′s or 40′s going about your daily life. You see how simple things like buying food becomes a chore, and you wonder, about all those old people, who have no one to subsidize their income, who must manage on what little they have. You see people take advantage of them by rushing in, rushing out, leaving them exhausted and stressed.

Something that just hastens the dying process.

 

Hallucinations

  • Posted on August 19, 2011 at 8:28 am

Mom’s bedroom is upstairs. You need a ladder to get to her room, and yet she insists that someone was at the window, flashing a flashlight into it.   Told her to call me ( she has a button that rings a buzzer downstairs ) but she said:  I didn’t want to disturb you.

Like, uh, you think someone is at the window, but you’d rather be scared than call me? 

I don’t get these odd little hallucinations, or perceptions. It does make the task harder, because you can’t argue with her, hours after the fact. IF she’d have called me, I could have re-assured her.  It is almost as if she doesn’t want to be re-assured.

Sounds crazy, but at times I do wonder if some of the complaints, aren’t just fabricated for the attention. Possible, I suppose, and yet I think I do give her lots of attention, but that it might not be enough, concerns me, and yet, it also aggravates me.  Just how much more time can I devote to her?

God How I Hate Beacon Community Services

  • Posted on September 12, 2010 at 10:42 am
This entry is part 8 of 24 in the series Quality of Life

There maybe some other good workers, employed by Beacon Community Services, but I sure as hell haven’t seen too many.  Worse though isn’t so much the workers, as it is the system & way that Beacon Community Services operates.

You would assume, a corporation dedicated to supplying home support workers, would take into account the Patients needs.  With Beacon Community Services, your assumption would be WRONG.

Today’s scheduled worker was needed to assist an MS patient, which is certainly a priority over Mom’s needs.  I have no objection to that. In fact, I rather support that concept, however, it doesn’t let Beacon off the hook. Besides, it was the regular worker who called, so Mom wouldn’t worry, NOT BEACON.

To begin with, they need to insure that ANY SUBSTITUTE is at least properly trained, for the basic needs of the Patients.   SOMETHING BEACON DOES NOT DO.

They also need to try and avoid the added stress, both to the Patient, as well as to the normal caregiver.   AGAIN, SOMETHING BEACON DOES NOT DO.

This mornings worker claims, she was notified to come here, at about the time she was shown to be here, on their schedule.  That schedule had been changed last night, to show one substitute, then changed this morning to show this worker, then changed to show a different start time.

NO NOTICE GIVEN TO THE PATIENT OTHER THAN THE ONLINE SCHEDULE

So, how many 93 year olds, do you think have Internet Access?

The real issue is, what about all those people who HAVE NO ONE IN HOME who can access the schedule, who can adjust things for them, like helping them out of bed, while waiting for the substitute worker?  WHO CALMS THEM DOWN, RE-ASSURES THEM?

How about the added laundry now caused, due to the stress of the change, but also due to the worker simply not arriving as scheduled?   WHO DOES THAT EXTRA LAUNDRY?

As Mom put it this morning, it is the added stress that gets to her. She wanted to know, why does Beacon do that?  Don’ t they care about their patients?

SO BEACON COMMUNITY SERVICES, HOW DO YOU ANSWER A 93 YEAR OLD?

Maybe I Don’t Get It?

  • Posted on June 24, 2010 at 9:23 am

Yesterday wasn’t what I’d call a great day. It was rather unproductive, and it makes me wonder, if I get this whole new society at all. I mean I was raised a certain way, always told to reach for the stars, to never settle for second best, but to accept that sometimes, my best just wasn’t going to get me the Golden Ring.

Practicle and yet idealistic too. Kind of like that, but it sure does tend to get a guy down, when you realize, that many simply meander through, doing not their best, just the least possible that they can get away with.

Like I got a bit of a lecture, because I stopped Mom’s cumadin, given that the reading was high, and I hadn’t heard any instructions.  IT WAS WRONG TO DO THAT.   Yet, in my defense, I was going on past experiences with other Doctors.  Should have known better, because the one we have now, KNOWS HIS STUFF.  THE OTHER DOCTORS MERELY MEANDERED THROUGH.

Take the way not one, but four different Doctors, over the last THIRTY YEARS PLUS, treated Mom’s blood pressure. Rarely did they change the medication, instead they simply UPPED THE DOSAGE.

In all that time, Mom’s average blood pressure readings where in the 140 to 160 range. Within a year of being with our current Physician, Mom’s readings are now in the 120 range. He simply kept changing the medication, until he found one that actually worked for her.

SO WHY COULDN’T THE OTHERS DO THAT?

Public Service

  • Posted on May 24, 2010 at 9:49 am

Does such a thing exist today?

Seriously, I do wonder if the committment to serving the public exists, anymore. I look at the people who work for Beacon Community Services, and I shake my head, wondering if they have a clue about what they do, and how it impacts those in their care.

Take the idea of simple notification of changes.

By not notifying the PATIENT of a change, they are adding to the stress, and worry, that old people fall prey to. You and I may not be so concerned, though in all honesty I am finding myself wondering too.

Like I am asking myself if today’s regular scheduled worker will have her time moved up or down, and if so, how will I know?  YES there is an online schedule, but it gets changed to cover the asses of the schedulers, so often, it is inaccurate.  Unless I check at the scheduled time, it WILL NOT ALWAYS REFLECT THE TIME.

That leads to the PATIENT wondering too. Mom is 93 years old, sitting on the edge of her bed, waiting for the scheduled worker at 9am.  When a worker doesn’t show up, she is confused, worried that her service has been cancelled. 

HOW IS THAT HELPFUL & CARING?

People used to sign up for work, with agencies like Beacon Community Services, because they had a desire to help. They went into jobs like Nursing, Home Support, because they CARED.  It wasn’t about the pay, about the fringe benefits, and yet today, IT SEEMS THAT IS ALL THAT MATTERS.

IT IS TIME TO TAKE BACK WHAT ONCE WAS. STARTING TOMORROW, MAY 25 2010, I SHALL COMMENCE MY OWN ADVOCACY ATTACK, TO ULTIMATELY END THE MONOPOLY OF BEACON COMMUNITY SERVICES, & THE UNCARING ATTITUDE OF OUR GOVERNMENT.

Basically it is time to start making face to face appointments. Beginning with MLA’s, and working up the ladder to include the Minister of Health. It is time to contact the media, for face to face meetings, to start making the current system, accountable.

It is time to ACT, TO Serve.   How else can I properly help my Mother?

 

Thursday’s Substitute

  • Posted on March 12, 2010 at 10:33 am

Unlike Wednesday, we actually had one scheduled for Thursday – Pamela

And unlike Monday’s little General, this one was nice, pleasant, and a treat to be around. She had been here before, back in the summer when Mom had a cast on, and she seemed to remember that, which helped. Course, it seems that the information being provided was rather stale dated, but then, that seems to be the way Beacon Community Services operates — HALF ASSED.

I know, it sounds like I really have it in for Beacon & VIHA, and perhaps that is true. I mean how many chances do you give a company, agency, to get it right?

What is impressive with SOME of these workers, is that they actually enjoy what they are doing, or at least give that impression. AND that does make a world of difference, for the family and the patient.  I suppose you can’t teach that, but it should be discussed, and not in a passing manner, but reiterated time in, time out.

Older people need reassurances, and it may seem inconsequential, but it does help their peace of mind, which in turn, helps them deal with the natural degrading of their abilities. Okay, so they don’t have full bladder control, doesn’t mean you point it out when they make a mess, or make a production out of cleaning it up.  And it may be indeed inconvenient, or time consuming, but you know, isn’t that all part of the job?

Pamela was nice, and she did make Mom feel good, and that made me have a much better day than I had on Monday. When applying the cream, and Mom lost her bladder control, it didn’t become more difficult, it was easier for me to cope with, simply because Pamela had done her job, had taken some of the stress off of me. It let me ignore the mess, deal with it, without upsetting Mom, and so that was a WIN.

AND TRUTHFULLY I’LL TAKE ANY WIN, ANYTIME.  THERE AREN’T A LOT OF THEM HAPPENING.

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