Caregiver Tip # 3

“In the hospital, be an advocate for the AN patient. You will fill the gap left between nursing care and the many little needs that come up at the hospital.”

Considering that I was recovering from brain surgery, it’s not a surprise that I found myself confused at times.  Even though I wouldn’t admit it — even to myself.  My mind was racing inside my limp body telling me that I had to take control and grasp all the details haphazardly flowing through the air.

Having my family always with me helped track when I could — or should — ask for pain meds.  The nurses gave me incredible care.  However, they were busy focusing on multiple patient’s medical needs.  You can only imagine how many distractions they have in a day. Having a family member help keep track of the time, what worked last time, and what changes we were trying was priceless.  They also reminded me of things that I needed to remember, like the need to get up and walk; or the need for a shower 🙂

And then there were the ice chips.  They knew where to get ice chips, Pop-cycles or red Jello (NOT green).  So, everything was only a few feet away when I needed to try food to help manage nausea from vertigo, pain meds, or exhaustion.

Being familiar with storage for bedding allowed her to be self-sufficient when she needed to set up a bed for herself overnight.  She was able to help herself and me without bothering the nursing staff.

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