I have a new patient. She is 74 years old. She has difficulty walking. She had surgery in April and has been in rehab and she came home last Tuesday. I walk her twice a day from the bedroom to the living room and then back to the bedroom at night. It takes everything out of her to walk it, but she struggles to make it. And she does.
Sunday morning she couldnt make it. I knew she was disappointed in herself. She had taken a sleeping pill the night before and I think it made her lethargic in the morning. Sunday night when I went to put her to bed she walked it for me :))...we were both very happy. I am hoping this week we can start walking it three times a day.
Her family tells me I have done more work with her in the time she has been home than rehab did in a month. I find this very sad. Also when we first started she was afraid I would yell at her if she couldnt do something the right way b/c they yelled at her in rehab. I would never yell at her. I wonder what is wrong with these so called professionals who choose to work with the public but have no patience with them. Obviously, she wears a depends b/c she cannot get up and go to the bathroom by herself. The first morning she woke up at home she was wet and she was afraid I would be mad b/c at the hospital they got mad at her when she had an "accident".
This infuriates me. What the hell do these people at the hospital get paid for? I do not neccessarily think you get the best care in the hospital. Not with attitudes like that. Its all about money anymore...all they care about it what kind of insurance you have. The nurses are worked to death b/c they are understaffed. So patients do not get the best of care.
I will help her to walk again. I will never yell at her or lose my patience with her. She is paying me for my services and I will give her the best I have. When someone is paying you thats what they deserve...your best. I wonder why hospitals don't feel this way??
13 comments:
Excellent post today and I feel the same way as far as people who hate their jobs but continue to make their own life miserable as well as everone they work for or with. It is not just in the hospitals either, it is all over.
I am glad this woman has you to take care of her...Bless you!!!
Unfortunately some people do the jobs they do for the wrong reasons - but not you!
Your patience is comendable, Catch!
Keep it going.
I can't believe they would yell at a 74-yr old woman who just had hip surgery! Oh my goodness, I can't imagine what that did for her morale in trying to get herself better! Thank goodness she's out of the hopsital now and has someone wonderful working with her! And it will be a wonderful day for her, her family, and you when she accomplishes walking again!
Catch she is blessed to have someone as caring and gentle as you are to take care of her.
I hate hospitals and the care they give esp. to the elderly.
Oh my god, you are so right about the insurance. When I went to my hospital volunteer orientation the volunteer coordinator said the staff treats poor, and medicare and medicaid patients really nasty. That is sad. They probably don't feel like they deserve any good treatment since they're not paying for it themselves, or are just poor. I hate that kind of attitude.
And yes, the nurses do all the work. When I look at people who treat old people like that I wonder how they will feel when they're 74 with a bad hip and a 22 year-old is yelling at them about peeing on themselves. Won't be fun then, will it?
What a powerful post Catch, but I think even if you volunteered, this woman would receive the best of you, because you care. Thats all it takes, and you have it. I am proud that you are my friend. You make a difference in this world everyday. I was so blessed in our hospital and in Toronto to have such compassionate men and woman around me. This woman will treasure you. I love the picture
K.
Catch you're so sweet!! You can tell from this post what a caring and loving person you are!
Happy 4th!
I put pictures up for you of my deep fried favorites to give you a better idea :)
We are all going to get old. We just don't realize it when we are young. Old age is for old people, right? They say what goes around comes around, so you are bestowing some good karma. My Grandma who was heart, had to go live in a rest home when she was 95, I think it is very hard on family to have to turn the care of a loved one over to people who can be very cruel to them, only because they do not really care for anything but the money. But by the same token, I suppose it is very hard being patient with an old person who loses control of their bladder and can't do anything for themself anymore. Wish there were more good people in your profession.
It is so sad she was teated that way. And it tells us that other sare treated that way as well. I wish I could hug her. You are a blessing to her and everyone else you care for. You are so very special. If everyone who cared for the elderly were like you, their lives would be much happier and healthier.
Catch, thought I'd return the visit.
A wonderful post. Glad to see there are still dedicated carers out there. Please keep up the good work. You're an inspiration.
Ciao
jj
I'm so sorry to hear that this woman suffered such mistreatment at the hospital by paid professionals! Not all nurses and rehab specialists are like that, but it's painful when it does happen.
Catch, I'm so very proud of the way you treat your patients with dignity, respect, and kindness.
I have a 90+ year old neighbor that lives across the street. She just fired a care provider that had been with her for 8 years. She was paying her $140 per day, I believe, and she admitted to me that this woman would do very little work for her and she discovered that this woman was talking poorly about her to people on the phone and to some of our neighbors. Finally, my neighbor decided enough was enough.
I guess I'm sharing this to show you how wonderful you are! I can't imagine you EVER doing unprofessional things like that.
Your patients are luck to have you!
Catch, this happens in the teaching profession, too. I had a student one year who, on the first day of school when I was passing oout math books said, "Oh, I won't need one. Mrs. H. said I was too stupid to learn math."
I was shocked. I can't even articulate how angry and frustrated that made me. I pressed the book into the chhild's hand, looked her in the ey and said very clearly, "Honey, Mrs. H. was wrong. What she should have said was that she was too stupid to teach you math. Luckily I am NOT!"
That was three years ago. The girl still comes back every quarter to show me her math grades.
People in nurturing professions should be required to comprehend that if the spirit isn't nurtured nothing of value can possibly be gained.
Whew! Sorry -- this got me.
Thanx for visiting my blog -- isn't Dr. John a treasure?
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