Tom
01.16.06 (5:04 pm) [edit]Did the 3-11 shift last night, had to fill in for one of the workers who could not get into work because of car trouble; funny how much car trouble develops over the weekend. Oh well she is alone with her six year old, and going to school to boot, so I don’t mind. Over all I like this shift, it can be busy, at least for the first four hours, but after 7 it tends to get real quiet. Most of the patients here like to go to bed early, so for the most part things are very quiet. One of the people I take care of is Tom, a man in his early seventies who looks much younger, but has some difficulties that have made him bed bound for the last four years. He has some serious circulation problems in his legs, and in the past he did not take very good care of himself, in this regard; not unusual for a male….. Over all we don’t take very good care of ourselves, at least most of us don’t, there are always exceptions. When we first started taking care of him, his legs looked like a piece of roast beef, large dark sores, with wounds that would go to the bone. We tried taking care of them, but they got worse, so he was put into the hospital for about two months while special care of was given to leg care. After he came home his legs slowly started to heal and now they look normal, though we still have to watch them closely. He also has a permanent staff infection, which while a threat to him if we don’t keep a close watch, is not a problem to anyone else, as long as simple hygiene is observed. He is also struggling with a weight problem, not surprising, being bed ridden does not afford much chance of burning up calories. I have talked to him about this and he is trying to cut back on his already sparse diet. We make sure he gets balanced meals and try to help him to lose weight. One problem is his power chair, if he gets too big for it he will not able to get out of bed; also his weight problem makes it hard for him to breathe, so we have to keep his head up all the time. He is trying, not much else you can ask from anyone. I have a lot of admiration for him. Even though he is limited in his activities his spirits remain high, he keeps himself busy with reading, and has a lot of friends who either call or come to visit him on a regular basis. He is also catholic and likes to make cord rosaries that he gives away to friends who pass them on to others. He has a down to earth sense of humor, and all in all loves life. I know he suffers from his confinement but he does not take it out on others; at least most of the time. Hence my respect, don’t know if I could take it the way he does. In the year 2000 I was laid up for a month with a herniated disk, and believe me it was very difficult for me. I can remember waking up every morning, something I dreaded because of this; and for the first half hour felt a great deal of anxiety, fear, and a feeling of being trapped. The only way out for me was to simply abandon myself to God, to let go, after this I started to feel better, until the next morning. I guess the fear and anxiety just built up over the day and in the morning it was the first thing I felt. So when I see someone able to take this for years on end, my respect is profound. He is rough and ready on the outside, but when you get to know him, you understand that he has a bright soul, has depth, and a great love of others, though he can be rough in the way he shows it. His humor can have some sharp edges to it, but when told that he has gone over some line he listens and does better at least for a while. People ask me why I love to take care of others, well people like Tom is probably one of the main ones, and being 3rd of 11 children also enters the equation. The main reason however is that it gets me outside of myself, gets me away from my introspection, and keeps me busy. I think we are made to give and serve; did not Jesus wash the feet of his apostles?