this weekend our regular caregiver was away. This can make a huge difference depending on who you get.
George came wandering out on Sunday morning with no clothes on and dragging an empty catheter bag along the floor. He had taken it off his leg.
I had to clean him up. Then I had to change the catheter bag. I dressed him in some pyjamas and gave him something to eat and drink. Then I had to start on the cleaning out. Unfortunately George had gone back to bed leaving it soiled and wet. As well as clothes I had sheets, a big blanket and a comforter to wash. Two of those items I had to wash in the bath as they are big and bulky. The floor in the hall and the bedroom was wet so I had to steam clean all of this.
George was waiting for a temporary caregiver to arrive. I kept giving him books to read and giving him more food and drink. Finally at 11.30 I got a ring to say that the caregiver would not be coming as she had had an accident. I then needed to shower and dress him as well. This takes a good hour.
Basically that took me all day.
Yesterday (Monday) morning I went to get George out of bed only to find he had rolled out of bed only to find he had rolled out of bed and was lying on the floor. It took me a good half hour to get him up. I got him to roll onto his front and then get into a crawling position. Then, with the use of a chair and me with my arm under one of his arms we managed to get him up.
It is things like this which continually makes you have to change any plans you may have. You just have to learn to go with the flow. Don't stress and learn what is most important.
Wow Diane, I'm constantly inspired by the stories of your day-to-day challenges and the way you face them in such a matter-of-fact way.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much Susan, I think we all face lots of challenges but when looking after people with this condition we ALL face more than most. We need a common sense approach to it, just as you have too.
ReplyDelete