When I came home from hospital I was so helpless that I found it hard to be left alone for any length of time in my bedroom.
A church friend stayed with me and helped me during the early days.
A church friend stayed with me and helped me during the early days.
At that time the pain was excruciating and I was unable to move my right side even 1 inch from the back of the chair without severe pain.
Though the church friend wanted to continue to stay with me, I could see it was not a good thing.
I called Pam Padgett who lives in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and ask her to try to find some type of professional help that we could hire in Lubbock, Texas, where I live.
Within a few minutes Pam had found 2 companies in Lubbock who provide home care, and one company Pam said she especially liked.
I called them immediately and arranged for them to come talk to me.
When I told the church friend, she did not want me to hire professional help. She said she thought I would be taking away her assignment from God to help me.
However I knew this was not the case.
The next day when the two representatives came to my house, the church friend happened to be there at the same time. She came into my bedroom and listened to us talk.
After they left she agreed it was the best thing to do.
I hired them for the next two weeks.
*****
HOME CARE
This company required four hours a day. ($20.99 hr.) The time was broken up into two sessions, 9-11 & 3-5
***
Caregiver # 1: Brenda
The woman assigned to the first shift was excellent. She was in her late 60's, and she truly was professional.
She anticipated every need in the house.
I hardly had to tell her anything, though I had made out a list of possible things that would need to be done (coffee , dry toast , applesauce for breakfast … sponge bath, brush teeth ... feed indoor cat & outdoor stray cats ... clean porta-potty ... laundry ...)
Before she left that morning, she even offered to make me a sandwich.
I was very pleased with the service.
***
Caregiver # 2: Afternoon shift
In every way this woman was unsatisfactory for this job at my house.
- She spoke very little English and I understand almost no Spanish. We could not communicate at all verbally. Nor could she read English, so I couldn't write what I needed done.
***
From the first moment she was in the house everything went wrong and continued to go wrong.
I have found when this happens in a relationship or an association it usually spells «DOOM» .
It will not work.
***
- She had a strong body odor … I suspect a cheap perfume …
A few years ago I had an operation for a broken hip and after the operation I found I could not tolerate perfumes. I would become nauseous. At that time I learned nurses and caregivers are often told not to wear perfumes, because patients very frequently have this problem of nausea through body odors.
I had forgotten to tell the home care office that I had this problem.
I had been terribly nauseous for two weeks and I was afraid it would start up again.
Therefore with this woman, in the two hours that she had to be at my house on assignment, I tried to find ways to keep her out of my bedroom.
As a part of her requirement she had to fill out a notebook which they left in my bedroom.
I asked her to take the notebook into the other room and fill it out, wanting to keep her out of my ability to smell her.
Unfortunately she took off a serape and threw it on the chair in my bedroom and took the notebook and went out into the other room. The garment of clothing had the odors on it which I could smell but it was better than having her in the room with me.
***
- She was supposed to take my car and drive it to the grocery store to pick up groceries.
She got into the car (the keys were in the ignition). She had to run my car five minutes before driving it, so she started the motor, got out of the car ... and as she got out of the car she accidentally hit the door lock and closed the door of the car.
The keys were locked inside the car with the motor running!
Her supervisor, Paula, was still here when this happened.
(This company has a supervisor come with caregiver when they bring a worker you have never met before.)
Paula, supervisor, came into my bedroom and asked me if I have another set of car keys so they could get the door unlocked.
My car is 24-years-old and has a combination built into the driver door. So I gave Paula the combination and they got the door to the car unlocked.
***
The next problem, which was major, was the problem that managed to free me from the use of this Spanish-speaking caregiver.
Paula came into my bedroom a second time after the door lock situation, and said, "How do you move the seat of the car forward ?"
I replied, "The seat is broken and does not move."
Paula said the Spanish-speaking caregiver was unable to reach the brake and foot pedal of my car.
I replied we could not, in the future, use this woman at my house. They would have to get me a woman that is at least five foot six who can run my car.
I was delighted! For this got me free from this caregiver without hurting the feelings of the caregiver and without causing any problem.
When they set up the program they told me they realized some caregivers would not be satisfactory or compatible to the patient and when this happened they would replace the caregiver. So if there was any problem, all I had to do is ask that the caregiver be replaced.
(I did not ask Paula to replace her immediately that day. I allowed her to continue to work for her assigned two hours at my house.)
***
- The next thing that happened was this … She took her car to pick up groceries, which was approximately 2 miles from my house.
I told her to get the garage door opener off the visor of my car and take it with her so when she came back with the groceries she could be in the driveway, open the garage door, and easily unload the groceries into the garage.
Sounds simple … Right?
Think again!
Caregiver went for groceries and returned to my house and came into my bedroom to tell me the garage door opener did not work and she could not get the garage door opened!
Later she discovered she was trying to open the garage door with an eyeglass case holder that was also hanging on my visor.
***
Caregiver #3: Part time college student
English speaking.
This worked pretty well.
A few problems:
- When she left at the end of her assignment the first day, she forgot to put the house key in the lock box on the front door. Therefore the next day the care worker could not get into the house. The home care company had to call my church friend at 9 o'clock in the morning to come and let them into the house.
My church friend had planned to sleep late that morning, since she was not needed, but she was unable to do so.
This certainly made it difficult for my church friend.
When mistakes are made often other people suffer as a result and that was certainly the case in the mistake made by the college student.
***
- Another problem, the college student went to the grocery store and returned with the groceries.
One of the items was cottage cheese.
She placed the cottage cheese in the freezing unit of the refrigerator.
This was discovered the next day by my church friend.
The only thing we could do was throw away the new carton of frozen cottage cheese ...
***
- One other problem, the college student left a box of garbage bags sitting in the middle of the floor in my bedroom. She failed to put them into the cabinet where they go.
Fortunately, at that time I was into the fourth week of the accident and was able to successfully bend over and pick up the box of garbage bags and put them into the cabinet.
A couple of weeks prior to this I had dropped a Kindle device onto the floor. I tried to pick it up by bending over and the pain was very bad at my shoulder. I did successfully pick it up, but it was an ordeal.
One thing this shows me is the healing process that has taken place since I dropped the Kindle on the floor and since the time the college student left the garbage bags on the floor is considerable.
There is a significant improvement going on daily with my body.
The college student is able to do the caregiver work.
She just lacks some maturity in doing the work.
She is 20-years-old at this point in time.
I am very happy to have her when she is assigned to my house.
***
PREPARING FOR THE ARRIVAL OF THE HOME CARE GIVER
All in all, I would say home care is important and valuable. There are some problems along the way which you might have to deal with swiftly.
Before the care giver arrives for her session at my house, I have to prepare a work sheet for the day's activities.
I often have to explain to the care giver one thing at a time, and let the worker do that task, and then go to the next thing on the list.
I can put this on an email to myself which allows me to make copies on my printer, which is in my bedroom, so I will have a copy and the worker will have a copy.
WORK SHEET FOR HOME CARE GIVER
Here is a sample of the work sheet which I prepare daily for the home care workers.
November 29, 2018
Morning
- prepare breakfast: dry toast, applesauce
- clean porta-potty
- feed outdoor cats ... 2 bowls / 4 cans Frisky meat, 2 cans per bowl ... 6 scoops dry food, 3 scoops per bowl ... fresh water
- feed outdoor cats ... 2 bowls / 4 cans Frisky meat, 2 cans per bowl ... 6 scoops dry food, 3 scoops per bowl ... fresh water
- feed indoor cat ... fill bowl with fresh dry food ... 1 can Frisky flaked food in meat bowl ... fresh water
- wash back, legs, feet
- laundry: wash
- boil 6 eggs
- fill top shelf with water bottles
- clean coffeemaker basket / prepare next coffee
- lunch: 2 boiled eggs
Afternoon
- laundry: dryer
- setup kitchen area in bedroom: (move microwave, move electric can opener, move soup cans, move crackers, move microwave soup cup and lid, move loaf of white bread, soup spoon, colby longhorn cheese, knife)
- setup feeding area for cats for weekend ... red top containers in garage ... 1 container for outside cats filled with cat chow ... 1 container for indoor cat, about half-filled with cat chow.
- clean porta-potty
I am aware the patient might be unable to formulate a work sheet. However, it would likely be much better if someone could, for I have found the home care givers are not often able to structure their own work schedules.
***
I am aware the patient might be unable to formulate a work sheet. However, it would likely be much better if someone could, for I have found the home care givers are not often able to structure their own work schedules.
*****
The caregiver leaves the room and it seems she is gone a long time ... you can hear pots banging, doors slamming ... but you have no idea what she is doing nor when she will be back.
From your perspective, as the patient who is frozen in a chair 24 hours a day in another room, the time can seem endless.
All you can do as you are sitting there helpless is to imagine what is going on in the other room.
After I began writing this book you are reading, I was able to occupy my time before she returned. Then sometimes she returned too soon to suit me because I wanted to finish what I was writing.
It takes a certain amount of control on the part of the patient to endure this part of early confinement.
*****