Day time...what shall I do?

You know as I watch Lexi bark at a squirrel that's climbing down on the left side of the tree, I remember that working five nights a week, I usually got purple bags under my eyes, slept only 6 hours maximum during the day, ate irregularly-- usually around 3:30pm and 2 am, had constant bloodshot eyes, and gained back the weight I had lost in 2008. This was mainly from no exercise. You know it is not proper to do jumping jacks in the hallway of a nursing home. ha!
BTW: When I noticed and became concerned about the purple under my eyes, I Googled "purple under eyes." The article said that I needed more sleep! duh!

My job was to keep My Lady safe! I had to be in her room 12 hours each night to be sure she, who was very active, did not climb over the rails or fall on the floor. She had an alarm on the wheelchair, an alarm in the bed and a 6 inch pad next to the bed for safety.
When I first met her she had callouses on both wrists from the wheelchair that rubbed on her as she went up and down the hallway all night. She would run into people that were in the way, or twisting the hands of a patient who was waving at her but appeared to be trying to restrain her, or pulling down the pants of a patient that was just in the way. This is life in nursing homes...
However, the callouses are now gone! Go Sylvia! These last 9 months My Lady has slept peacefully all night in her bed. She has been comfortable with me in the room especially when I constantly reassure her that I was going to be there all night waiting for her to wake up. She loved that and would be at peace.

I was also useful in setting schedules for each of 5 people to work night time from 7pm to 7am. It took all of us to cover the 168 night time hours per week. This time had to be emailed every two weeks to an accountant to write out checks so that the Techs would receive their checks in three days. If those checks did not arrive, I was the one who got the phone calls from the Techs. "Where's my check?" whine...

It has been good money for a retired person who did not mind sitting in a semi dark room with a 40 watt bulb, writing this blog, playing games on my laptop, reading books, watching cable TV in the room, and playing solitaire on my new EVOG4 phone. Also, I loved what I did with the money; but now, I have gone back to retirement budgeting... sniff.

What an experience for me. I will never forget it. It has been a blessing! When asked, "What will you do with my life now?" I tell them that "I plan to sleep at night."

Time to turn another corner...

It is late fall, the leaves fell off the trees this last weekend and I am quitting my job in the nursing home.

This job was totally out of my comfort zone. I did not know how to be a caregiver.
With the help of some skillful and caring Techs, I learned.
I was asked to help with this Lady for about 3 months which was the time she was expected to live after she experienced a series of heart problems. She was in a "Do Not Resuscitate" DNR status.

Oh My! By my 3rd week with this family, I was called to meet her daughter in ICU at Vanderbilt Medical Center where I found My Lady with tubes coming out of all orifices. Kinda creepy for me. I spent the night with her.
Actually, I saved her life that night when a young nurse pulled an IV needle out of her hand and did not check to see that it had stopped bleeding. About 20 minutes later, I just happened to get up out of my chair to see how My Lady was doing. I found her IV hand on a pillow in a pool of blood that was dripping onto the bed. Yuk! What a mess! I quickly called the nurse back and another followed. They said nothing while they cleaned up the mess. I wondered if this was usual??? I thought about mentioning it to the doctor; however, when the cardiologist came in very early the next morning, he said that he was surprised she was still alive and left. (?)

However, the 3 months have became 13 months. My Lady has become more stable and healthy. She looks great today. She has a strong will and wants to live. It is time for me to leave.
Bye.

"What straight teeth you have Grandma."

I received a message on my computer today when I was trying to download some photos that said that I did not have enough space on my "start up drive." Where are those Geeks when you need one?
Now this phrase may mean something to Geeks of the world, but today it made me go "lookin." So as I backed up my computer and was in an external drive, I came across this old photo that my Kid had left on the hard drive before she "handed it down" to me. ha!
Now, I ask you, does that look like my Kid? Well, yes. The only other time I've seen this face was, when as a child, I made her eat liver.

Violin right cross...gonna miss it!

This has been a crazy year in my life.
I was asked recently why I was quitting my job at the nursing home. Oh, did I tell you? I'm quitting my job... I was asked if I was "kicked out" of My Lady's room? No, she didn't kick me out; but I DID duck a right cross.

It was my turn to take over one night last week, My Lady was painfully mean and aggressive when I arrived upstairs in the room at 10pm. She had pulled all her clothes off calling the Tech stupid, hateful, etc. The Tech finally was able to get My Lady's bed clothes back on her body and was able to physically put her back into bed without getting hurt. The Tech smiled at me and said, "Good luck with her tonight." and left.

This night, as I leaned over to adjust My Lady's pillow as usual. But when I looked in her eyes, I quickly remembered some of her past aggression. What was in the back of my mind quickly scampered to the front of my brain when I saw her right fist come across her body toward my face. I moved quickly out of the way! Whew. I had missed her "violin right cross."

I quickly went to the nurse and insisted that he give her prescribed drug, ASAP. So, after her taking the medicine and calling the doctor "inept" as he walked out the door, [ha!] I had the joy of the next 30 sarcastic minutes with her referring to me as "that woman behind the curtain" where I was hiding [ha!], she finally fell asleep like a baby. Praise the Lord for drugs and this job!
However, this is not why I am leaving. It's just time! Except for these "bouts" ha! that happen more frequently nowadays, my Lady's health appears to be better off now than when I first began working for her. For me, staying up all night every other day has been rough on me.

This work has opened my eyes to older people, the people who take care of them, and to the world around me. I am so blessed. Gonna miss it!