This morning both my day nurse who works 7 AM-7 PM and my PCA who works 7 AM-12 PM called in. I’m not sure why, the companies don’t tell the reason for it. Luckily, my PCA company was able to get someone to work the shift. Also, the PCA that works at night from 6 PM-10 PM came in at 2 PM-10 PM. Unfortunately, the nursing agency ended up not finding anyone to fill the shift, so my mom worked it.
It’s very difficult on everyone when one or more of my caregivers can’t work. Especially when there is nobody to replace them. It is usually up to my family to help me, do my cares, and make sure nothing goes wrong. Since I need to require 24/7 nursing, especially in case something went wrong with my ventilator or tubing, it’s very important that someone is always within earshot. My ventilator will alarm if the tubes pop off and I can’t breathe because of it.
A good example of this was just the other day when I was out for a walk with Brody, my nurse and a nurse in training. Something within my circuit came apart and she could not find it right away, so she had to use my Ambu bag on me. In case you don’t know what that is, it’s something they hook up right to my trach and squeeze air in inflating my lungs so I can breathe (also known as a “self-inflating bag”). It was also helpful that I had an extra set of hands along to assist.
Hopefully, everything gets back to normal. It can be stressful when people call in for their shifts, especially nurses. At this point in time, I don’t have a lot of people to call for backup who are trained specifically for my case. Although sometimes anybody is better than nobody to help out.
Jenni
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