Sorry for length in advance... true story from last sat night...
My mother was in a car accident on July1st. She broke her back and shattered her ankle, also got a severe frontal lobe concussion which is terribly fucking with her short term memory. After 2.5 weeks in the hospital, and after 2 operations, she was physically ready for release from the Nuroscience wing of our local hospital.
She was to be released to a rehab center for phsyical therapy. She needed to learn how to move around with her back brace on, and to also learn how to get around without putting weight on her shattered ankle. A rehab center is usually just a dedicated wing in a nursing home, that a therapist comes to twice a day and gets the patients to move around a bit.
So, the place her insurance company places her, is in an awful part of town. Hey, you gotta have degrees or something to work in these places I thought, so hell, maybe people drive in.
Anyways, last Sat night, I was visiting right before bedtime. Keep in mind each and every day my mom forgets where she is, and has no recollection of the accident. Ever seen the movie 50 first dates? Same kinda thing. Okay, so I had never helped her into the bathroom before, and seeing my momma take a leak was something I really wanted to no part of. I hit the nurse call button. The light goes on outside the door in the hallway.
No one comes. Ten minutes later, my mom still standing on her broken ankle in the bathroom. Her roomate, who was about 95 years old, offers to help her. She does, and mom gets sorted out and statrs coming back into the room towards her bed.
A male patient, about 90 pounds and wild hair appears in the doorway. The little old lady that helped my mom get dressed says, get him out of here, he is always trying to get in bed with people! I'm thinking WTF. I look at him, and say hey, take a hike. He has a glazed look in his eye and looks straight through me. Sent chills down my spine.
I walk up to him and get in his face. Move it man, I'm not kidding, get the fuck out of here. Still nothing.
I put my hands up to him, to get ready to manhandle his little ass out the door. He pops to life, and darts across the hallway into another patients room. What the fuckever I thought.
Help momma get in bed, tell her g'night, etc, and make my way to leave. Its been 20 minutes since I hit the nurse call button keep in mind. I hear a scream from across the hall.
I go out and look into the room where the scream came from. A 100 year old man, all shriveled up with a Santa beard and white unkept hair looks right in my eyes and mouths the words HELP ME. At the end of the bed is the patient I ran out of my moms room. He has his hands up the old old guys gown. My mouth drops. The old old man being felt up hits his nurse light.
Now I'm standing in the hallway looking around. 2 nurse alarms are going off now, almost in harmony. Its been 25 mins since I hit my moms in her room, almost 30.
I run to the nurses station. No one. I start heading towards the front door of the building and 2 nurses walk in. I tell them whats going on, and they dart off, more concerned about me seeing them than worried about whats going on back down the hallway.
I go out the front door and find 4 more nurses sitting there smoking cigs.
I didn't know what to do. I wanted to get baseball bats and bash thier fucking skulls in. I realized this probably would just end up being taken out on my mom, since they knew I saw them fucking off.
Sorry for such a long story, but this happened Sat night, and I had to share it... Needless to say, found a new place first thing Monday morning, and I stayed all night in a chair next to her bed that night.
I never thought I'd have to be dealing with such things at 30.
My mother was in a car accident on July1st. She broke her back and shattered her ankle, also got a severe frontal lobe concussion which is terribly fucking with her short term memory. After 2.5 weeks in the hospital, and after 2 operations, she was physically ready for release from the Nuroscience wing of our local hospital.
She was to be released to a rehab center for phsyical therapy. She needed to learn how to move around with her back brace on, and to also learn how to get around without putting weight on her shattered ankle. A rehab center is usually just a dedicated wing in a nursing home, that a therapist comes to twice a day and gets the patients to move around a bit.
So, the place her insurance company places her, is in an awful part of town. Hey, you gotta have degrees or something to work in these places I thought, so hell, maybe people drive in.
Anyways, last Sat night, I was visiting right before bedtime. Keep in mind each and every day my mom forgets where she is, and has no recollection of the accident. Ever seen the movie 50 first dates? Same kinda thing. Okay, so I had never helped her into the bathroom before, and seeing my momma take a leak was something I really wanted to no part of. I hit the nurse call button. The light goes on outside the door in the hallway.
No one comes. Ten minutes later, my mom still standing on her broken ankle in the bathroom. Her roomate, who was about 95 years old, offers to help her. She does, and mom gets sorted out and statrs coming back into the room towards her bed.
A male patient, about 90 pounds and wild hair appears in the doorway. The little old lady that helped my mom get dressed says, get him out of here, he is always trying to get in bed with people! I'm thinking WTF. I look at him, and say hey, take a hike. He has a glazed look in his eye and looks straight through me. Sent chills down my spine.
I walk up to him and get in his face. Move it man, I'm not kidding, get the fuck out of here. Still nothing.
I put my hands up to him, to get ready to manhandle his little ass out the door. He pops to life, and darts across the hallway into another patients room. What the fuckever I thought.
Help momma get in bed, tell her g'night, etc, and make my way to leave. Its been 20 minutes since I hit the nurse call button keep in mind. I hear a scream from across the hall.
I go out and look into the room where the scream came from. A 100 year old man, all shriveled up with a Santa beard and white unkept hair looks right in my eyes and mouths the words HELP ME. At the end of the bed is the patient I ran out of my moms room. He has his hands up the old old guys gown. My mouth drops. The old old man being felt up hits his nurse light.
Now I'm standing in the hallway looking around. 2 nurse alarms are going off now, almost in harmony. Its been 25 mins since I hit my moms in her room, almost 30.
I run to the nurses station. No one. I start heading towards the front door of the building and 2 nurses walk in. I tell them whats going on, and they dart off, more concerned about me seeing them than worried about whats going on back down the hallway.
I go out the front door and find 4 more nurses sitting there smoking cigs.
I didn't know what to do. I wanted to get baseball bats and bash thier fucking skulls in. I realized this probably would just end up being taken out on my mom, since they knew I saw them fucking off.
Sorry for such a long story, but this happened Sat night, and I had to share it... Needless to say, found a new place first thing Monday morning, and I stayed all night in a chair next to her bed that night.
I never thought I'd have to be dealing with such things at 30.
)
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