A couple of fairly placid weeks till this week.
I got a call Monday from a nurse saying that Mom had fallen and hit her head in the bathroom. Her private aide was there, in the room, and the nurse was livid that this had happened. Mom was OK, I guess -- no blood, and no sign of any problem. Mom called me shortly later to say she had had "a little fall and it was MY FAULT."
I called the aide's boss and reported this, and also reported a vague comment from Mom that the aide sometimes falls asleep in the chair when Mom's in bed. The boss said these were serious problems, and she called the aide, who reported that the fall had happened when Mom got out of bed "fast" and went for her walker and fell before she could do anything.
Mom never gets out of bed fast. I thought it likely that the aide had fallen asleep. The room is eight by ten, and you can't be in there anywhere and not reach Mom in a couple of seconds. But the aide denied that she ever nods off. We pay extra for this aide. Her only job is Mom. So she is on notice. I'm a little pissed by all of this, and I think that Mom calling it her own fault is just a way of protecting the aide. I have debated seeking another worker, but Mom is attached to this woman, and, by the aide's reports, she does get her out of the room for exercise and activities, and Mom does recall most of the specific activities, when asked. One recent day, I think it was Tuesday, Mom didn't nap at all, according to the notes.
Mom never gets out of bed fast. I thought it likely that the aide had fallen asleep. The room is eight by ten, and you can't be in there anywhere and not reach Mom in a couple of seconds. But the aide denied that she ever nods off. We pay extra for this aide. Her only job is Mom. So she is on notice. I'm a little pissed by all of this, and I think that Mom calling it her own fault is just a way of protecting the aide. I have debated seeking another worker, but Mom is attached to this woman, and, by the aide's reports, she does get her out of the room for exercise and activities, and Mom does recall most of the specific activities, when asked. One recent day, I think it was Tuesday, Mom didn't nap at all, according to the notes.
Meanwhile I have lined up the aide for extra work on Saturday and Sunday, when Julie and I will be visiting daughter and son-in-law in DC. But I canceled her for days around Christmas.
Mom also has reported "fights" with the workers, and being "yelled at." I don't know what to make of it. When I ask her closely, it seems to be about her getting out of her chair, when I have seen them yell and come running. She persists in doing this -- she'll fall and break something else -- and says they treat her like she's in jail. I think the night staffing is thin -- just three workers, I'm pretty sure -- and some nights they're probably putting out several fires at once.
Sister L has suggested moving her to NYC, where there is more family to spread the visits, but to move her -- she's already confused about where she is right now without a move. And I have thought of bringing her to my house, but we're never home, and to get an aide for her when we're gone means there's just one person to interact with, not the many she has every day now. She's made friends, she would be deathly bored at the house, and I would go crazy. There's no good answer.
Sister L has suggested moving her to NYC, where there is more family to spread the visits, but to move her -- she's already confused about where she is right now without a move. And I have thought of bringing her to my house, but we're never home, and to get an aide for her when we're gone means there's just one person to interact with, not the many she has every day now. She's made friends, she would be deathly bored at the house, and I would go crazy. There's no good answer.
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