Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Ten Fingers, and Ten Toes?
As I look at my four healthy, beautiful children running about the house and yelling out at each other as they are playing hide-n-seek in the house, I thank god they have the ability to walk and talk and breathe on their own. As I am a Personal Assistant/ Certified Nursing Assistant and I do home care for the state of Illinois, I had a potential client contact me last week interested in hiring me to care for his son which has Dushene Muscular Dystrophy and is living with a tracheotomy and on a ventilator. I agreed to interview with the family, as the family was impressed with me and wanted me to start training right away, I accepted. I'm not sure why I took on such an intense client that didn't fit my requested scheduling, I guess I just admired the mans' persistence to live, he has a great sense of humor and is very kind and respectful which is a big change compared to what I'm used to working with when someone has a debilitating disease that can and will kill them. He has a Masters degree in History from ISU and is very optimistic about his future.His family has jumped through hoops to get everything stable for his care and still participate daily in his care even though he is 34 years old. I admire his family's strength for getting through all these years with this disease. I can only thank god for keeping my children and family healthy and happy, I'm glad they can enjoy life without being dependent on machines to breathe for them, or wheel chairs to move them around because they have no muscles to move on their own.I very seldom thought about any of my children being born with a disease or cancer, I'm so grateful that I didn't have to go through anything like that when my children where born.
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Bad things always happen to good people it seems like, there are so many people’s lives and loved ones touched by diseases. For example today when I was working at Demanes Animal Hospital I was dealing with a Great Dane pup I’ve dealt with before, her name is Brunella. She is 6 months old and already grown like wild flowers to the height of my upper body, she is patient and loving to anyone that handles her, but she hasn’t been gaining weight for awhile even though she eats nonstop. When the doctors looked into it, they found cancer all over parts of her body, I felt sick and teary eyed to hear the words cancer in something so young and loving. I know my job isn’t easy dealing with hurt and sick animals and I’m sure you job isn’t either with humans, but they sure in heck makes you thankful for a healthy family.
ReplyDeleteMany of us are so lucky and take the simple things for granted like walking, talking, and seeing. Some of the greatest and kindest people are just dealt bad cards and it is not fair. My baby cousin was born with Downs Syndrome and many people do not understand how lucky they are to have a healthy child. Sydney is beautiful, loving, and a gift to have in my life, but she is not able to have the life many other kinds have. It is not fair, but you learn to make the best of any situation. Everyone should cherish everything God has given them from something simple to something they should be grateful for.
ReplyDeleteI currently work at a home for handicap individuals and it honestly makes me think about how good I have it. It is awesome you got that job; it will truly make you be thankful for all you have. Sometimes I look at my residents and just ask myself why they are like this and I am so fortunate. As I go through my day I take so many things for granted like walking, talking, and being independent. Every time I walk through the doors at work I realize how grateful I should be. Good luck with your new job!
ReplyDeleteI never really sit down and take a look at how lucky I am to be as healthy as I am. I know I wish things about my body were different, but at least I have all my limbs, and can live independently. I don't know how you manage work, school, and kids, but what I do know is that it takes a very strong person to help handicapped people. Along with helping those people comes a lot of stress, so this is just another thing that shows how strong of a person you really are. You are doing a great deed.
ReplyDeleteThe bad things always happen to the wrong individual. Well my little brother was diagnosed with a disease called SMA (spinal muscular atrophy). The doctors told us that he wasn’t going to live to the age of 2; he wasn’t going to talk or walk. Even though he was in a wheelchair it never stopped him from doing anything he wanted. He always kept his head up and had a good sense of humor just like the client you are talking about. Well my brother did live past the age of 2 and he did have a mouth on him. About 3 years ago, my little brother at the age of 8 passed away due to the disease. People in today’s society don’t know how lucky they are to be healthy and also to have healthy children. I just think people need to open their eyes and realize that they have truly been blessed.
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