Wednesday, January 25, 2012

A Traumatic Evening

Daughter called yesterday evening, upset. As she told her story, I understood her fear. There is another diabetic in her house, who is described as a "real bad" diabetic. I think she is a poorly controlled diabetic, and suspect the home is not caring for her properly. Last night she had a low blood sugar, leaning to a seizure. According to Daughter, they were trying to figure out whether the new staff member had given her too much insulin at supper. This is the same staff member who decided to start giving Daughter her anti psychotic 2 hours before she ate supper.
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Daughter was scared, and wanted me to come get her. She said she didn't feel safe. I didn't go get her, and I offered her reassurance, reminding her that she has a voice and she keeps herself safe. It concerns me, though, when I hear stories like this. I worry about the residents who don't have involved family advocating for them. I wonder what will happen to Daughter when I'm no longer able to be her strong advocate. No matter how well I get the current staff trained, there will always be new staff members starting.
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I'm grateful that Daughter has a voice and not only advocates for herself, but tells me what's going on. For now, I can advocate for her and keep her safe. For the future, I'll have to trust God and other people who care about Daughter and her well-being.

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