Please help ASAP! Need patient care info!

Nascar nurse, ASN, RN · Apr 22, 2006

Personally, I think you need a classroom setting or at least someone to actually show you how to do these things correctly. You WILL hurt yourself or him if not done properly. I have taught CNA class. Can't imagine verbally describing without "show and tell" to go along with it. And with all due respect, you also may want to check your attitude a bit before proceeding. I am NOT saying the man does not deserve better care, but it is not at all easy to care for the type of patient you have described and at least give this lady some credit for trying despite her circumstances. Good luck

leslie :-D · Apr 22, 2006

first and foremost, i would never encourage this gentlemen to be an assist of 1 with transfers. that is an accident waiting to happen.

does he have a hoyer lift?

bathing a person in bed is not especially challenging.

in the event it wasn't done already, could someone call his insurance to see if he has coverage for a home health asst?

leslie

Kim O'Therapy, BSN, RN · Apr 22, 2006

first and foremost, i would never encourage this gentlemen to be an assist of 1 with transfers. that is an accident waiting to happen.
does he have a hoyer lift?
bathing a person in bed is not especially challenging.
in the event it wasn't done already, could someone call his insurance to see if he has coverage for a home health asst?
leslie

I was thinking the same thing. He sounds like a double assist to me. Protect your back and this patient and see if someone can help you. Sounds like you'll be a great nurse someday since you care so much.

Bumashes, MSN, APRN, NP · Apr 22, 2006

"does he have a hoyer lift?"

earle58

"And with all due respect, you also may want to check your attitude a bit before proceeding. I am NOT saying the man does not deserve better care, but it is not at all easy to care for the type of patient you have described and at least give this lady some credit for trying despite her circumstances. Good luck" Nascar nurse

Ah, there is no lift to use. Yes, I know; it is a two person job. This heathenistic woman will still be working for him when I do. So she will be there to help lift. He is going to try to get another person other than her to live with him (gone through this many times already), so hopefully someone more able will be found.

Okay, I should have spoke a little more of this woman so you could realize I am not being frivolous in my anger. She lives with him (part of her salary), does no chores (it smells like poo and dirty dishes at his house), and she is supposed to take care of his dog (it has fleas, knots in its fur, and it hasn't been bathed in a good while.) The van used for his transport is old, so it is only supposed to be used to go to and from work. However, many of his coworkers see her using it for far more than that. She is sometimes even as late as 2 hours to pick him up from work. She has no other job than this by the way. We have no idea what she spends her money on, but she is always complaining of lack of money. She has been caught taking his medicine. Before she got so overweight with a bad back, she was able to get on disability, which is no crime, but then she shouldn't be working like this if she's supposed to be on full disability. My mom and I and a couple of his friends from work think she's stealing money from him because she will often tell him she needs X amount of dollars because X on the house needs repairing. We have caught her in a couple of lies from that. She said once that she needed money to fix an oil leak on his van because it was leaking all over the driveway (which it was). Well, after it was supposed to have been fixed, mom noticed fresh oil stains in his driveway. When she asked the lady, she replied that it must have started up again and that she guessed she'd need to go have it looked at. Several occurences like that have happened. Alone, they could easily be true, but there are too many of those instances for it to be just coincidence. This is one reason he has no lift. Every time he starts to get enough money, something "needs to be fixed." Well, I'll be there now to inspect it and give my opinion on the fixing.

She is not nice to him. Barely civil at all. She has been known to run up his phone bill which will get it cut off for a while. She opens his mail (not for him, but while he's at work). That worries me especially because she could be applying for credit cards or who knows what.

The reason I didn't include this info in the first post is because I didn't want it to be so long. But, some are obviously wondering if I am being too harsh in judgement on this woman. I assure you I am not. There are more atrocities I could type about her, but it would take forever. So rest assured, I have examined my feelings very closely with regards to her already. Thank you so much for your response, though. It's nice that someone is concerned for my health.

Bumashes, MSN, APRN, NP · Apr 22, 2006

"in the event it wasn't done already, could someone call his insurance to see if he has coverage for a home health asst?" earle58

Concerning the insurance. I will ask him about it, but I doubt he has anything like that. 1- because he would probably be using it, and 2- since his condition is pre-existing, if his parents didn't have health insurance coverage on him when he was 9, then from that day forward he would have a serious pre-existing condition. I don't know of any insurance companies that will cover that kind of condition. At least not for under $2000 a month. If anyone knows of any, please write in. Thanks for your responses!

Spritenurse1210, BSN, RN · Apr 22, 2006

Okay, here's the deal. I'm entering nursing school this fall, and I'll be entering a CNA course in a week and a half, but as of right now, I have absolutely no patient care experience. Now that you have my background (none), I'll tell you what's going on.
A friend of my mom's from her work (who is also the preacher that married me and my husband) is in desperate need of some assistance. I'm talking one bad situation. He is almost a quadraplegic. He dove headfirst into a shallow pool when he was 9, and now he has no use of his legs and very limited use of his arms (can move them and even his fingers a little, but has no strength whatsoever. Can't grasp a pencil or anything.) He is confined to a motorized wheelchair. Anyway, he is currently being "cared" for by a woman who has been attending him for years. However, she is extremely obese and getting worse due to some sickness/disease, and she has a terrible back that prevents her from lifting, bending, walking at a normal pace, etc. She is NOT a trained professional in any way, either.
Anyway, my mom saw the preacher at work one day and asked how things were. She noticed a musty smell upon approaching. Mom was an LPN a lifetime ago, but switched to computers after she got out of the Navy. She recognized an unkempt body immediately. She inquired about it and he broke down and said that his "caregiver" hadn't been cleaning him properly, changing his sheets, washing his clothes, etc. for a pretty good while. He hadn't realized it had become noticeable, because he HAD BECOME USED TO IT! OMG!!! Now, let me explain something. He's not got much money to spare (or family), so that's why he has put up with this crap for so long. Personally, I'd like to drop a brick on this b**** so that she'll have to be taken care of by someone and see how it feels, but I'm just mad :angryfire .
So, mom said she'd ask me if I would take over a lot of the evening help since I'm going into this field anyway. This way, his current imbecile would only have to get him up and dressed in the morning, fed, and drive him to and from work. She still does these things okay (except the dressed part because he's wearing old dirty clothes.) I would then help out with light housework, dinner, bathing, etc. I am perfectly okay with doing this, but I have no idea how to proceed. I'm asking for nurses/cnas to write and give me advice on how to lift someone properly from a bed and wheelchair, how to bathe someone, and any other advice or considerations I might need to think about or watch for. By the way, she will still be there to help with the lifting until he can find someone to replace her (unbeknownst to her.) I am stepping in right now for only a little while until things get better and another person is hired. I feel terrible for him and want to help, but I also want to do it properly so I don't miss anything or hurt myself or him. Thank you so much for your responses.
Update: I have added a post about this woman's character for those of you thinking I am being too harsh on her. It is post #5 on this page.Please, give it a read.

Pay attention to all the body mechanics they teach you in your CNA class. They are envaluable and have saved me from serious injury countless times. you can always report this woman to the department of social services in your local area. also Desatin works wonders for keeping skin integrety and comfort on hot sweltering days. i wish you the best of luck in the world and i hope that you will be able to have someone who is worth thier salt to take care of that man

Katnip, RN · Apr 22, 2006

Has he called county agencies for disabled people? They have enormous resources. Even though he's working he may be entitled to funds because of his disability, and they may be able to help him get a hoyer and find experienced help.

kmwb · Apr 22, 2006

I work as a AIN/NA ( which I think is Australian version of CNA, but we have a million different names too) in a LTC facilty I have many patients that are non-ambulating and my advice is even if someone weighs only 30-40kg (time 2.2 = pounds um... 60-90 pounds) If you dont move them correctly you are going to hurt your back. The sub-standard carer may have hurt her back in this way even. Learn proper body mechanics if you are forced to lift. We have a no lift policy, I can not tell how greatful I am for the hoist when transferring 200+pound people from bed to chair and visa versa. Even with two people if someone is non weight bearing you are looking for trouble.

Be careful of your back, you need it for the rest of your career.

Goodluck.

Drysolong · Apr 22, 2006

I agree that this would be excellent experience for you AFTER your CNA training. Much success to you

traumamomtx · Apr 22, 2006

I think that you are putting serious risk to the patient and to yourself not being trained in this area yet. You don't know proper lifting technique and could injure your back let alone injure this other person; then how will you go to nursing school and pursue your dreams? I know you want to help but you will also learn once you become a nurse that we want to help everyone but sometimes we have to find other ways to help then being hands on and sometimes we just can't help no matter what.

michele08540 · Apr 22, 2006

That's very kind- that you would like to help, maybe you should just talk to his caregiver and express your concerns and then offer to help her with him occassionally. (hence Occassionally). I also think that it would be good for you to get or borrow a book from the library on good body mechanics.

Also you should try to find outside resources to help with care, if he is disabled he should qualify for a Home health aide or CNA (maybe this could be your next part-time job, when you become a CNA).

His caregiver is not physically able to care for him due to her obesity, she will soon require help herself.

Good bless you-