Job shadow

#2 came to the health center this afternoon and job shadowed me for a few hours.  I enjoyed having him there.  I introduced him to all of the residents.  They had fun meeting him, Heidi and #5 as they dropped him off.

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Saturday off

They have cut my hours this weekend.  We have dropped in numbers of residents over the last week and now don't need the same number of aids on the floor so, as the on call aid, I was dropped from the schedule for Saturday and Sunday.  I still may be called in for another aid if they need to find someone. 

We made carmel popcorn last night and watched season 2, episode 1 of Greatest American Hero, (called "two hundred mile an hour fastball")  as a family in pjs and blankets on the family room couches after getting number 5 in bed.  After the episode, it was ten o'clock so we got the rest in bed and Heidi worked until nearly one in the morning.

Marleen sent home another pair of scrubs for me.  She has given me every pair I own, which is three: my dallas cowboys, a solid blue, and these new solid black ones.  They are very much appreciated and fit great.  She also sent food from Costco; yogurt, pretzels and other things for the kids lunches at school - very kind of her.

Heidi and I got away for a few minutes last night before dinner and went to Walmart, where we had a 25 dollar gift card received at Christmas from generous people.  We purchased a can opener and ping pong paddles.  The can opener is self explanatory and because our hand opener was becoming all but ineffective, (number 2 and I both cut our selves opening cans.)  The paddles were for my Saturday chore.  The RS president have a full size table tennis table that she need to get rid of a few months ago.  Another neighbor got in the first request for it but then discovered that it wouldn't fit in their basement.  They then gave it to us.  It has been folded up in the garage since the fall.  This morning I wheeled it out and with the help of Heidi and #'s 1 and 2, I took off the wheels and some of the base so that it would fit down the stairs.  We then hauled it down and put it back together.  We now have another free family activity filling up another corner of the basement.  Heidi and I have taken it for a spin.  It should be fun.

It is movie and dinner in our pjs over at Marleen's tonight.  She purchased that recent Disney horse racing movie and wants the grand kids to come and watch it together.  We are all going to put on pjs and make an evening of it with a yummy dinner before the movie of BBQ beef or pork sandwiches.

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Movin on

I was officially let go from Nebo Credit Union last Thursday.  They needed someone there more often than I could give. I was down to two afternoons a week.  The other three were busy at the Health Center.  At least for this month.  The new schedule comes out in a day or two for February.

So I am down to working as close to full time as I can for the Health Center, One patient for Health watch (home health) and school three days a week studying Human Anatomy.

I worked 2pm to 10 pm on Wednesday.  There was a resident that was scared that night.  I sat next to her while she clutched my hand for about fifteen minutes and I talked with her.  She said that she was scared of people and scared of dying.

Monday afternoon as I was helping a lady into a reclining chair in her room, she burst into tears and put her head on my shoulder and cried.  She was fearful that her doctor was going to tell her that her Parkinson's was getting worse.  She had an appointment that afternoon.  She found me later and called me over to her dinner table and told me about her appointment.  She was relieved that the doctor had answered her questions. But it didn't seem like better news to me.  He said that the Parkinson's is only slightly worse.  The trouble is that she is developing signs of Alzheimer's disease.  The  doctor has changed her meds.

One of the residents came to me and told me that I shouldn't have left her roommate out in the snow like that.  I told her that I had helped her roommate to a seat on the couch and not into the snow.  She went to look and came back to tell me not to worry, her roommate had made it back in from outside and was now sitting on the couch.  I expressed my relief.

One of the residents is a huge Louis L'Amour fan.  She brought one of her favorites for me to read on my breaks.  I have it in the cupboard by the Nurse's station and I try to read it on every break.  she will ask me every day where I am in the book and if I have gotten to this part or that.  She has more books waiting when I am done with this one.  She is only there at the Center during the day while her husband of 53 years is at work.  He then comes and picks her up to go home for dinner.

I was doodling in a napkin before a work meeting and afterwords I gave the doodles to one of the resident.  She told me days later that she has it pinned to her wall in her room and shows it to everyone who visits and says "See what Aaron can do!"  But I can't remember what I doodled.  She is a very sweet and extremely dignified woman, I was flattered.

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