What a week!

It's been a tough week. I mentioned earlier in the week that Heather had car problems. It turns out it's some security thing in the ignition. Her car thinks it's being stolen, so it won't start. Of course this is not a cheap thing to fix and although it was supposed to be done on Friday, it needed another part, so we are left missing a car, with people who need to go to work and school on Monday.
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My sister in law, Jan came home from the hospital on Thursday. She came home under the care of Hospice and remains very sick. She will need someone to stay with her while Rog goes to work, so there is much to be done in way of arrangements. Please continue to pray for her and the rest of the family.
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I have mentioned that we were having another state survey. Many of you will remember when I have told you about the crazy things we are cited on. I think our cites this time top the cake. We have been cleared of our last cites, but there always seem to be more things to find fault with. I don't like any citations, but we are humans and we do make mistakes. However, when it seems they are just grasping for things, and I hear about what happens in some other homes, I get really frustrated.
Here are some of the things we were cited on:

1. The kitchen sent out sandwiches wrapped in foil. These were for a snack and as such were passed out to people in their rooms and the hallway. The state says they should have a paper plate with them and it is a dignity issue.
2. Our silverware is wrapped in a napkin. The state says the residents should receive another napkin. This is also a dignity issue.
3. The residents had bananas with a meal. The aides peel them and help them with eating them. It is (yes, you guessed it!) a dignity issue to have a banana peel next to them while they are eating! Of course, if you get up to throw the banana peel away, you have to wash your hands before you come back to the table and the resident has to sit there and wait.

We only got a few other citations, but you get the general idea. Another reason this is frustrating is that these people are like judge and jury. There is really no one to complain to, and the regulations are not in black and white, so each person reads them a little differently.
So - now we go back to work and write a plan of correction, so we are ready for the next visit!

What a week

It's been a crazy week for me. Things have been tough at work. We have had about 5 new admissions, which is a lot in a short time. An admission means a lot of work. You wouldn't believe the amount of paperwork required just to get someone admitted and more is required over the next few days. It's also hard because it doesn't give me a chance to get to know the person very well before another someone else comes. Worse than admissions though, is that some of our old friends not doing well. One of my favorite men has been declining over the last few months and will probably not live much longer. This resident is well loved by all the staff and they are all having a hard time. Then when I came in on Thursday I was told that another resident had a stroke the night before. She was someone who loved to talk to us and would always ask me how she could pray for me. She still knew me when I saw her, but could hardly talk. Her condition has declined since then and it doesn't look like she will live long either. I have this weekend off, so I went to see them both before I left. The woman who had the stroke held my hand and was able to get out a few words, which were "I'll see you in Heaven". As you can imagine, that about did me in. I then went to see my other friend and said good bye to him and his daughter, wondering if this would be my last good bye to him. I left work with red eyes and a lump in my throat. They have both lived good, long lives and are ready to go. I also know where they both will be going and I will see them there, but it sure is hard to say good bye here.

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I did have a nice thing happen today. I was given an award! Karen, from Karen's Ramblings gave me the "Spread the Love" award. I think Karen gets more awards than anyone! Of course, she deserves them, so I am honored that she passed this to me.

Here is what the maker of this award says:

"I have met so many lovely and very talented ladies here in Blogdom, what more can I do or say to express my humbled heart to each, than to give all my dearest readers and friends a special award filled with love. So, spread the love dear ones, spread the love to those you love."

Thanks so much Karen! I am going to pass this to everyone on my blog roll. If I didn't love your blogs, you wouldn't be listed!

Living the Life of Riley

Most of you know that I work in an extended care facility. You may not know that my daughter Heather also works there. She is going to college and works part time in the dietary department. Another thing you probably don't know is that this week is National Dietary Appreciation Week. Heather was working last night and when she came home she told Bob and I that we had to stay where we were and listen to a poem she was going to read to us. I assumed this poem was something that was written for the dietary department as part of the appreciation goings on. (They do things for each department during their week, like posting signs and banners, and sometimes even poems!) She said to me "You will know who this is from, when you hear it". So I sat back and listened to this:

She always comes in so very smiley,
It's only because she has the life of Riley.
We all know she is good at vacation,
every other week she is traveling the nation.
When others push on like an upstream barge,
She's sitting home, living large.
As we task and toil to take care of the mess,
She's sitting back, relaxing like a princess.

I immediately knew this poem was for me, not Heather. There is a nurse aid that I work with who teases me every time I have a day off, and says I am on another vacation. She tells me that actually my life is a vacation. When she came to work yesterday and realized I had the day off, she decided to write a poem and pass it to Heather. They all had a good laugh and so did I. I must say that compared to her, my life is easy. She is a wife and Mom, she is working full time and going to nursing school. Her husband lost his job and hasn't been able to find anything permanent, so she is trying to help out her family and as you can see, she is maintaining a good sense of humor while doing it. I must defend myself just in case you believe that poem. We are in need of another nurse and in the meantime, the rest of us are working extra. Tomorrow I will be working my second 12 hour shift in a week. If you know any good nurses, send them my way, so I can go back to sitting with my feet up and eating bonbons!

Crazy Day!

What a day! My friend, Nancy who is my work partner, did this post on Friday about how crazy her day was. I'm sorry to say that things weren't any better today. It was one of those days that starts off busy, and things just keep adding on. One of my patients was dying, and therefore he and his family needed frequent attention. In the middle of the morning I had to send someone else to the hospital, someone else got sick and there were a few other residents who were having behavior problems. Of course, since it was a Saturday, none of the office staff or management was there, so the nurses have to answer the phone and take care of anything else that comes up. I did end up working a little late, but was able to get home and do what needed doing here! My patient passed away this afternoon and I am really glad that I was able to be there for him and his family. We really become close to our residents and there are usually tears shed by the staff as well as the family when they pass. It is a privilege to help make the patient comfortable and do what we can to keep the family comfortable too, while they wait. I have tomorrow off and am looking forward to some praise and worship time at church!