Unsung Heroes

I have a newfound appreciation for people who take care of their family members at home. I mean the family where Grandma is living with them because she can’t live on her own anymore, and maybe can’t get around as well as she used to. Y’all – this is HARD work!!

My Grandmother has been living with my parents for the past few months. She was discharged from a rehab facility after a femur fracture and subsequent surgery and we just didn’t feel safe having her living home alone (she had previously lived independently prior to the fracture). I would visit my parents for a couple days in a row on my stretches of time off and help with transferring, toileting, etc. There was definitely a decline in my grandmother’s health and strength where she ended up needing truly total care. We didn’t want her stuck in bed all day so we would get her up to the sofa or recliner, to the table for meals and of course potty breaks. A bout of diarrhea would turn into nearly an hour in the bathroom because she was only able to stand for short intervals, even when it felt like I was holding her up all on my own. My parents did try various home health care agencies but there were days when they didn’t have an aide available or the aide didn’t show up. My parents have never worked in healthcare (and both have recently broken wrists!) so I was concerned about them injuring themselves lifting/transferring my Grandmother. Fortunately they were fast learners and we did find a couple excellent aides.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the number of patients who received home health care any time during the year (in 2013) was 4.9 MILLION – wow! Think about all the prevented hospital admissions (and ED holds) for patients who can get their wound care of IV antibiotics at home. Any how much that number has likely grown as we enter 2018!

Now when I have a patient and their family members offer to take them to the bathroom “because we do it all the time at home,” I just want to give them a big hug. And a break – let me take Grandma to the bathroom this time.