Work

Some day's I really do not like my job and then other weeks (like this one) I realize how important my job really is. (I work at an assisted living home) This week we have a sweet elderly lady who is close to passing away, my co-worker and I had to move her hospital bed into a private room the family has been there everyday this week and they had been nothing short of wonderful to us. I really appreciate families that are nice to us, it makes life there easier. I hope that the work I do there for their grandma mother and wife and others helps their families especially as the time for those we take care of nears an end.

I think that I have the best co-workers there, better than I have had at any job, I attribute this to the nature of the job. It is not easy and not always fun and the people who are willing to work there are of the most caring people you could meet we care for the elderly and each other, and sometimes the lives of those we take care of depend on us, like yesterday...

I have a man I take care of and he has had lots of trouble and his doctors can't figure out what is going on, he is unsteady, he has seizures and losses consciousness- often. And yesterday I was finishing up a shower and I felt the need to go into his room, (he had been sleeping soundly all morning so we had put off getting him up) his bed alarm was going off I found him standing leaning on the wall, he started to shake I was able to grab him and pull him into me (a 6'3" man) before his knees went out and I was able to set him on the floor, I called for my co -worker (I don't yell so when I do my co-workers know to come quickly), his shaking got worse and we layed him flat and his breathing wasn't very good (really shallow) so I called my manager (policy) she had me call his daughter for her instructions, she had me take his blood pressure it was 101/174- really really bad, she was so calm and told me that she felt impressed that he should go to the hospital and asked if we could transport him, (no) so she had me call an ambulance. 911 my first time calling, less than 5 min later the ambulance and 5 paramedics where there, (keep in mind that the man is 6'3" tall and he is on the floor - not an easy transfer to a gurney) I had to stay and talk to the paramedics- very nice people. They hooked him up to all kinds of monitors and then shortly they took him with them to the hospital. Then I had to keep going on with my day, later I ran into one of the paramedics at the grocery store and my manager it is nice to see her after an event like that. I have decided that adrenaline is an amazing thing, it made me physically shake and my voice shaky but I had a clear calm head and was able to handle such a large man. I bet I could have lifted a car (not a large one) that day.

My job is hard, and days like that make it worth it.