Previous Challenge Entry (EDITOR'S CHOICE)
Topic: WOUND( 11/26/20)
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TITLE:
Advocates Are Essential | Writing Challenge By Barbara Culler 12/03/20 |
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10th Place
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Sarah Jane was unresponsive, so she required complete nursing care for her physical needs, including repositioning her body to prevent bedsores. But in her case, it was too late. The middle-aged woman had a four-inch diameter hole in the flesh at the base of her spine. The crater in her skin was so deep, muscle, tissue, and bone were openly visible. In addition, smaller wounds were present on her heels and elbows. I knew that bedsores were a result of neglect, but at the age of 19, I was too naive to know what I could do about it.
I performed numerous procedures on the job that I was not qualified to do in my role as a Nurse’s Aide. One of my tasks was to give medical treatment to the wounds on Sarah Jane's body. Using a tongue depressor, I slathered a pre-made concoction of sugar and ointment into the wound, followed by overhead heat from a sunlamp. Then I went about my business, leaving her alone under the heat lamp.
I never knew if Sarah Jane acquired those pressure sores at the nursing home or if she came from another facility with them, but it broke my heart that she suffered so. She did not seem to have family involved, and she died alone while I still worked at the care center. Sarah Jane is someone I will never forget.
With the visitor restrictions from the current pandemic, I am concerned that people in similar situations will suffer neglect as a result of isolation and over-worked caregivers. These patients are not allowed family visits, in order to deter the spread of COVID-19. In this case, there is no one to advocate for vulnerable residents. How many people will end up with terrible wounds despite not contracting the virus?
Will I be able to be there for my loved one should the situation occur? I would not want for my elderly mother to suffer from holes in her body because no one was around to stand up for her. I performed treatments and procedures on Sarah Jane in ways that nowadays would not be allowed unless the caregiver had a nursing license. I did what my supervisor told me to do. This helpless patient had no one to watch out for her.
I am now at an age and mindset that will enable me to fight for what is morally and ethically right in the care of a helpless person, even if it means confrontations with authority. Our loved ones deserve better.
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