patience is a virtue

Weekends can be the most demanding and stressful time for carers; As we all have every other weekend off,  those of us  that are working are trying to fit in two rounds as best we can. So let me set the scene, I got up at 5.30 am to make my first call at 6am; I then work until 1.30pm and have an hour and a half break before starting again at 3pm. As the evening goes on I am gradually running behind for various reasons and I finally get to Lorna at 7pm knowing I still have another four calls to make before I can finally put my feet up.



Now Lorna is a fastidious lady who will always take the full amount of time allocated, even when she says she will hurry the minutes seem to disappear, but Heigh ho! that is just one of those things.
As I enter I make a point of saying I am sorry for being late and that I am in a bit of a hurry because I still have lots of people to see.
'Okay' she says 'let's make it quick'
Everything is going well until I start to help her undress. As she takes off her top I start to fold it up.
'Not like that' she says 'Let me do it'
Now I know I am in trouble,  this simple task will take forever as she meticulously folds the top like a complicated piece of origami; So I go to find something to fill the time; Scurrying off to the kitchen I make a sandwich for her supper and come back just as she is finishing.
On to her thermal vest, which she also insists on folding, so off  I go again, this time I prepare her bed, puffing up the pillows & duvet and pulling back the sheets.
'How are we doing?' I enquire through gritted teeth from the bedroom.
'Nearly done' came the reply. So in my ever increasing frustration to get finished, I quickly fill in my record of care notes before returning to her side,  She looks up, smiles and hands me the neatly folded items of clothing from her lap.

'Actually you might as well put them in the laundry basket, they'll need washing!'

I finally got home at 9.30pm

The dish cloth

Thank you Denise for reminding me of this story.

A while ago I visited Rita, a quiet independent lady who tends to look after herself with a little help from us; in all honesty we are just popping in to check she is ok.

On my first visit I asked if I could help in any way, to which she replied.

'No that's alright Dear, I am fine I can look after myself.'

'Well at least allow me to make a cup of tea.'

'That will be lovely.'

So off I go into the kitchen to make the tea and find a load of dirty cups and plates on the side;
I turned on the kettle, and to make myself useful whilst waiting for it to boil, I started to wash up with a cloth I found in the sink. I was about half way through when a voice comes from the lounge.

'If you are washing up Dear can you take my knickers out of the sink first, I left them in there to soak!'

When Carers can be a hindrance

Dennis is a quiet, almost reclusive chap who lives on his own and suffers with dementia. Of late he has gotten worse due to circumstances that have upset his daily routine. Invariably I walk in to find him just sitting there staring at the walls in silence, waiting for the warden or me to make our daily calls. Conversation can be quite hard, he often gives one word answers, not because he is being rude but because he can't think of any way to elaborate. As a consequence, I know that a lot of carers go in, do their tasks and leave.





Just recently I asked him why he does not go out more, and was surprised to hear that he was in fact sitting in waiting for the warden and me to arrive.

'It's rude to go out when you know someone is coming to visit'

So in fact along with his meals on wheels, our visits had become his life. He was even sitting in waiting for the 'check' call over the tannoy system

This was obviously unacceptable, so I suggested to Dennis that he at least go to  'The Coffee Morning'* on Wednesdays and I will make my visit later on that day.

The following Wednesday I arrived just after he had got home and the difference in him was remarkable; He was smiling, talkative and more alive than I have ever known since visiting him.

It's an interesting thought that Carers are supposed to improve quality of life, but in this case we had become a hindrance.

Since that day I have spoken to the family and suggested  '**Singing for the brain', which he now attends on Thursdays.


* Quote from a lady 'why do they call them coffee mornings, when we all drink tea?'
** http://www.alzheimers.org.uk/site/scripts/documents_info.php?documentID=760

when size does matter.

Maud is a lovely lady who always makes me smile. She is very particular, as she puts it, whereas all the carers would say she suffers from OCD.  Today I was asked to go in to do her housework and get some shopping. We started with the bed.

'Can you pull the pillows  away so that they don't touch my headboard. If you line them up with the edge of the cupboard that will be perfect. Oh Dear you have put the sheet the wrong way round. Pull the sheet a bit further up, No not quite that far!

As I know her quite well now, I will point out at this point that we do seem to be back to where we started, to which she will giggle and then proceed with the next instruction

'Can you do hospital corners? came the final remark

'No! I am afraid not Maud, You'll have to show me how' I replied

'Well tuck the back in first and pull the corner away.'

'Ok'

'Now fold it across'

'OK'

'No! Not that way'

'Ok how about this way'

'No'

'I am sorry Maud there are only two ways I can go'

'Oh yeah!' she giggles again 'Oh well that'll have to do'

I explain all this so that you get a picture of what I am dealing with, but honestly she is quite likable and I really enjoy her company, especially as she laughs at all my jokes.

So onto the shopping; She hands me a list with everything neatly written out. Brand name,  size of container with an alternative if required.
To make sure there is no confusion we go through the list  and half way down the she comes to Vanish stain remover.

'Now you know what I mean Dear, the one that is a powder to go in the washing machine.

'Oh yes I know the one'

'I would like the smallest one they do but I am not quite sure on the actual size'

'OK'

I have given you £16, it should be enough'

Off I go to Tesco's and everything is going well, I have a few issues with some things but I am quite confident that it will be fine. Then I walk down the washing aisle to find the Vanish, and as I go to pick it up I notice that the smallest one, 750g is £6.90 but the 1kg is only £5.01.
Well obviously I picked up the cheaper one, whilst smiling to myself that she had not given me £16 by accident and she will be pleasantly surprised when I give her an extra £2 back

'Hello Maud I'm back'

'Did you get everything?'

'Yes and I saved you some money!'

'Oh good, how was that?'

I explained about the price difference.

'Oh Dear' came the reply with a look of concern on her face.

'Why?What's the problem?'

Maud leant forward and opened the cupboard door under the sink. There were all her cleaning bottles neatly lined up in height order with each one carefully turned so you could read the label; and right at the end was a gap.

'Well the reason I wanted the small one, is because it fits exactly into this spot under the cupboard.

PS. Since this blog was posted originally I have learned how to do hospital corners

good hygiene

George is an elderly man who although he can walk it can sometimes prove to be a bit of an effort.

I walked in to find him sitting at the dining table eating his lunch and as I went to give him his tablets, I noticed he had sterile gloves on his  hands






'Why are you wearing those gloves?' I enquired

'Well nobody gave me any gloves when I had my catheter fitted, so I bought my own for when I empty the urine from the bag down the toilet.'

I cringed slightly as I asked why he was eating his lunch with them on?'

'Well I forgot to put them on before I emptied my catheter bag and when I sat down to eat I realised I had not washed my hands afterwards; As the gloves were on the table, I put them on on to save me having to get up again.'

Of course silly me. Quite logical really

The marriage proposal

I overheard a conversation between two female carers today that made me smile,

'I have had to pull out of one of my calls this week because one of my gentlemen asked me to marry him,'

'Oh my God! What did you say?'

'Well I laughed because I thought he was joking, and then he got really upset.so I explained that I already had a boyfriend so I could not except.'

giggles

'It's not funny  I felt really sorry for the guy'

'Sorry, I was just thinking you get proposed to and the nearest thing I get to a compliment is an old boy telling me that I shouldn't wear this blouse because it makes me look fat.'

'Oh Dear! What did you say?'

'Well I am normally quite calm but as he is always so rude and it was the wrong time of the month to tell a lady she was fat, I politely pointed out that a man with no teeth in his mouth isn't exactly an oil painting himself'

golf highlights

Whilst discussing the football on the telly with one of my ladies today, we moved on to sport in general.  I mentioned that the British Open golf was starting this week and that I had recorded the Scottish Open Golf highlights to watch tonight.



'Oh I think watched that last night,' she said 'Was that the one which Michelson won?'

'I don't know I haven't watched it yet'

'Oops sorry,' she said with a smile ' Still it was very exciting, it went to a play off '


That was my evening's entertainment scuppered then