Dimple's Discoveries

I start a new rigorous work schedule this month: 7 days a week. Every week. Four days off this month. Can anyone say burnout? But I love what I'm doing :) It's worth it to keep the time flying by (and it keeps me from having to socialize like a normal human being too, which is always a bonus!) But I've been really tired lately, going to work has been a bit harder recently. I had lost sight of why I do what I do, but Heavenly Father always seems to find little ways to remind me, as He did this week. I was med tech for a Sunday graveyard, and I was tired. When I arrived I was told that one of our patients had refused food and water all day, and just been sleeping. Her time was coming. The patients always seem to know, and the decline usually happens rapidly. She wasn't expected to last more than a day or two, if she survived the night. The problem was that since her decline had happened so rapidly, we had no E-kit for her, (a kit of liquid Lorazepam and Morphine to...

Sorry I missed last week guys, life has kept me on my toes these past few weeks.  If I had to pick a favorite out of all of the people I have ever cared for, she would be it. This patient had Alzheimers, final stage, and she was a sweetheart. She was the most kind woman I have ever met, which speaks volumes for her because Alzheimers changes most people's personality for the worse. When I first became a CNA and met her she was wandering with her walker aimlessly down the hallways, circling for hours until she accidentally went into someone's room or we needed her for something. By the time she passed away her physical condition had worsened to the point that she fell every time she tried to walk without help, but still had that urge to roam, so we had to keep a very close eye on her. Her daughter had brought in a desk tray that we could strap to her wheelchair to keep her in it, but just a day before my story we had been told to get rid of it because it was considered a rest...

Patients often ask in frustration why they are still alive, why they have to suffer through this illness or injury, and I have heard caretakers time and time again struggle with the answer to that question. I don’t have all the answers, but I certainly know one: because sometimes a trial isn’t what you need to learn, as much as what others around you can learn from you. That was how it was with a special patient of mine. This patient had lost her husband a few years prior. She talked about him literally every day, many times a day, and was pretty much in her own world. The trouble with being a caretaker is that you get to glimpse bits and pieces of the patient’s life, but you don’t get the full story. Much like flipping open a random book near the end and reading a few pages but never being able to see how the story began or progressed, we get a little glance and can only wonder at what they experienced, what trials they endured, or what made them what they are today. This sweet pa...

Today I was remembering one of my dearest patients I have ever had, and for anyone who knows me, I LOVE to tell stories about my work, but this patient is one of my very favorite memories, because she helped build my testimony and taught me a lot about life. This patient was one of the very first I ever cared for as a brand new CNA and Med Tech. She had Alzheimer's disease, and she was one of the sweetest women I will ever be privileged to know. I can only remember one time in all the thousands of hours of care that I did for her that I ever heard her get mad, and it wasn't even directed at anyone. She was ALWAYS kind in her conversation with the aides, and for anyone who works in health care you can relate when I say that someone in pain or being cared for isn't always going to be the kindest. She would always say how nice I was or how I was an angel. She had the most beautiful smile. She reminds me of the Rascal Flatts' song "Ellsworth" when it says ...