The Doctor asked me awhile back, why I don’t take some time off. He told me that there are special places, where I can leave Mom, and actually get away for a whole day or even two, if I wanted. Course those facilities are run by Beacon Community Services.
That alone is enough of a reason to NOT even consider such a proposal.
IF you know that there are going to be workers like Tracy or Yvette, or Wanda, Billie, etc. then sure, it would be ideal. Problem is you get people like Amy or Eleanor, and that is a recipe for diseaster.
Like today, we had Amy, who forgot that with an infection, you don’t use soap or any detergent. The reason is actually quite simple. The skin is tender as it is, has been ravaged by this infection, so using anything but hot water on it, only ascerbates the skin breakdown. Never mind that Mom already has bad skin.
Then too, it gets annoying, to go and see that Kitchen Garbage bags are used for the small garbage pails in Mom’s bathroom & bedroom. It is petty, perhaps, but indicative of why I am loathed to let anyone near Mom. IF they can’t figure out to ask me where the garbage bags are, how are they going to react with a really important situation, like Mom’s sudden shaking?
Seems the wife was asked, and was either still asleep, or not thinking, but he gave her the bags. Boy did he catch it from me too.
IT isn’t like there is no one around to ask.
Today I got my first sleep in, and I mean real sleep in. I didn’t get out of bed until after 11am, which is a first for some time now. One day a week, I get to sleep in past 7am, usually to 8:30am, depending on who is coming. When a substitute, I am up by 8:30.
David was here, so it isn’t like he lets the worker in, then disappears. He is within talking range, so why couldn’t she just ask him where the bags were?
Yes, that is PENNY PINCHING, but let me tell you. I am not rich, not even close to being comfortably well off. Our household expenses are enormous, and so we do have to literally watch the pennies. I need to make sure we have sufficient money to pay hydro ( about $300 per month btw. ) and insure there are depends on hand.
Medications cost money, such as her prescription creams, which run about $100 a month, not to mention the pills. Oh, and let’s not forget things like rubber gloves, so I don’t spread anything to Mom, and vice versa. So using garbage bags that are overkill, is just wasteful.
I do a full load of laundry each day, so when additional laundry is carelessly added, it is costly. Each time that washing machine & dryer are used, my Hydro goes up. I have to wash in HOT water, to insure the germs are killed. It isn’t a choice, unless you want to allow for the spread of the infection. I don’t, because frankly I hate doing the creams. It is not pleasant.
Caregiving isn’t just about giving the medications to a person. It isn’t about just changing their depends, or soiled nightshirt. It is about keeping them comfortable, about insuring their spirit isn’t weakened by things like wet nightshirts. That means using more than one or two depends in a 24 hour period.
It means that you always have things they need, on hand, like body wash soap, special lotion for the skin. It is why you buy laxatives in 1 liter containers, and why you never pick up one or two packages of depends. And those things cost money, but you aren’t out in the work force. You are here, struggling to make ends meet, and when things are needlessly wasted, it is just one more added stress put on your shoulders.
Yes it would be nice to get away, but to leave her in the care of the average Beacon Community Services worker, is like asking for trouble.
Don’t get me wrong, there could be many good workers employed by Beacon Community Services, but we don’t seem to get that many of them. Oh we have had some, but the ratio of caring, experienced, & competent workers to unskilled, uncaring, incompetent, is not a good ratio.
While I may rant about Beacon, the real culprit is VIHA and the Provincial Government. THEY are the one’s who should be checking, who should be insuring that people sent into our homes, to help with our Seniors, are fully trained, fully capable, of doing the tasks assigned to them. Irrespective of which company they work for.
I blame the lack of qualified personnel on VIHA and our Minister of Health, who turn a blind eye to what is happening. As long as they bring in their budget on target, they don’t give a shit about the cost to the people who they are responsible to. If a senior suffers, well they simply don’t care. The budget came in balanced, so screw how many low income persons ( or Middle Class for that matter ) paid for that uncaring bean counting approach, with pain & suffering.
