[SarahLovesNovember]

Hi Everyone!! Just wondering who else works with quadriplegics. I recently started training for a lead nurse position for a quadriplegic gentleman for his 24/7 homecare (he is very lucky to be able to have a personal staff of at least 20) and this is a great and new challenge for me. I have never had to take care of someone who was totally reliant upon me and the other nurses. I do vents, trach-care, cathing and much more. Any others out there that deal strictly with one patient like this??

[student456]

you describe me!

i take care of a women part time during School that has ALS and who is on a vent, trached and has a G tube. I administer all medications as well. She is totally immobile and depends on us caregivers. I have catherized her before too to get a urine sample. Its a very interesting job to have during nursing school

sounds like our jobs are pretty similar

[student456]

wow i guess your lucky that he has a care staff of 20...the woman i take care of has only 7 of us to take 24/7 care of her and 3 of us are in nursing School we so only work a few hrs on the weekend usually.

[SarahLovesNovember]

Yeah, he's lucky as well as us. I'm getting my RN and have my LNA right now...we also administer meds and the such. Great pay too...it's a lucky position to have during my schooling. He doesn't like to have his nurses working too much because he knows it's tiring. He's amazing though. He's still a part time high school teacher and getting his Master's...he inspires me...truthfully.

[Noryn]

It really seems that the rules are completely different for spinal cord injuries. In nursing school you are warned about the consequences of frequent enemas, etc but with a SCI (in general) they will get a bowel program every day or two preferably at the same time. Also in spinal cord injuries Foley catheters are bad, intermittent catheterization is much better but this is not always possible. Probably the biggest thing though is pressure relief. A pressure sore can put someone out for over a year if not kill them (Christopher Reeve).

These people have great courage and they are inspiring but just be ready to learn and know that there are many things that are done "differently."

[SarahLovesNovember]

Oh yeah...most definitely the case. Intermittent cathing is procedure. We actually cath him about 8 times a day. Crazy. And I never knew that high blood pressure usually means that his bladder is full. So many things to watch for. I gotta say though, that brushing his teeth has been the most flustering experience for me. I have to learn all the basics so I can cover all shifts eventually, but because he's fully alert, he let's you know if you missed a tooth while flossing or brushing and to be honest, I've never had to do that before. It's a different experience for me. Lol

[caliotter3]

I've had several patients like this. What I find astounding is that this gentleman has a staff of 20. He is a very lucky patient. Hope that you are able to maintain a good working relationship. You will be able to learn a lot while working with him.