the not so lighter side of care work

I had a call from the office to visit a lady called Moira and as usual on first calls I stayed for longer than the call is allocated to find out about the person and make them feel at ease. She was one of the sweetest ladies you could hope to meet and before I left she gave me a hug and a big smile, saying how much she was going to enjoy our little chats. As I drove away I reflected that I too would look forward to our little chats was indeed looking forward to seeing her again the next day.

The next morning I returned to find Moira asleep and although I spoke to her when I came in, she did not stir. I often come across this, so I went into the kitchen to prepare her breakfast and medication. I usually hum or whistle whilst doing this as I find that this will normally wake my ladies and gents up. After about ten minutes I returned to the bedroom with a cup of tea and tried to awake Moira  up; within a few moments of calling and gently shaking, I realised that she had passed away in her sleep.

This was my first experience of a dead person and I don’t mind admitting that I felt a certain amount of anxiety, as I tried to focus on what had to be done. After all the formalities were dealt with, I was now left alone in a house and at a loss as to what to do. My initial reaction was to make a cup of tea to calm my nerves, but then what? If the truth be known I wanted to get in the car and leave as quickly as possible but obviously I could not do that;  I sat in the lounge but somehow it felt wrong to leave Moira alone, so I went back into the bedroom and started stroking Moira’s hand. I know this may sound somewhat morbid and a touch macabre, but at the time it felt right. Although she was no longer with us, I still felt a duty to be by her side until someone could take over.
After a while I felt strangely at ease; there was a moment where the world seem to slow down and an inner calm took the place of my anxiety.

Half an hour later her family arrived and I left them to mourn in private, whilst I went on my way to finish my round; which is what we have to do, life goes on and we care for the living. Strangely though, I normally cross each name off my rota as I finish a call, but I could not bring myself cross off Moira’s name on that particular day; Somehow It felt too final and slightly discourteous

I know this isn’t ‘The Light side of care work’ but I hope you will forgive me on this occasion.. I promise to make next weeks blog more light hearted