Yesterday was an emotionally draining day.
For the first time in a few weeks, I had the chance to sleep as late as I wanted to after changing with Daddy at 5:00 am. So what happens? I couldn’t fall asleep until around 6 am, and then I woke up multiple times until I couldn’t fall back asleep until 10 am. My mind is just constantly going lately (and no, Ambien is not an option as I want to be able to wake up if there is something going on).
After I woke up at 10 am, I couldn’t get out of bed. I just started sobbing. It was like I kept so much pent up from the day before, trying to keep it together, that when I woke up, I just couldn’t stop. Daddy would come into the room, trying to say some comforting words, but I just couldn’t shake it. I even heard the nurse with Hannah in the living room, hearing her awake and moving, but I just couldn’t get out there. I was just so sad.
Finally, after about 2 hours, I was able to get up and out.
We had ANOTHER new nurse training today, and even though she was very sweet, I just didn’t want to deal with it. She was a much better fit than the one yesterday, but, and this could all be in my head, but she doesn’t have that loving connection with Hannah, and that is what I want for Hannah right now. I want her to be surrounded only by people who want to love on her, even if it means we don’t use all 80 of our nursing hours.
Daddy ended up getting me out of the house for a quick lunch. On the drive to the restaurant, I just let out exactly what I was feeling, and he did the same. Once I composed myself, again, we went into the restaurant. Really it is just a small store in a mini mall with about 7 or 8 tables, and there were only two other sets of customers there.
This nursing thing was also starting to get to me. Our regular nurse was able to pick up 51 of the 80 hours, which is awesome, which left only Mondays, Wednesdays, and Friday nights open to fill. For whatever reason, they were taking our regular Monday nurse, whom we really like, away for another case. She was the one that filled in on an emergency basis this Wednesday because our regular Wednesday nurse called out (she came by the hospice on Saturday in tears, so we are wondering if she can’t handle coming back).
So Daddy called to see what was going on. Who do we have for Monday? Abby has her brownies halloween party, but Daddy has to go to work and wouldn’t be available to go. Taking Hannah to brownie meetings and events is no longer an option, obviously.
Fortunately, they are letting us have our regular Monday nurse one more week. Daddy was trying to explain that we really need to have nurses we connect with right now and that we wanted them to find out if our Wednesday nurse was ever going to come back. Daddy, always being respectful, together, and firm on the phone, wasn’t able to get much out of them other than “they are working on it.”
I was getting so frustrated that I asked Daddy to hand me the phone. I started out fine, but within a few sentences I just lost it on the phone with her, almost hysterical. I told her that I can’t handle training anyone right now, that I really really want our Monday nurse not to be taken away from us because Hannah needs people who care about her around her, and that please please try to see if our Monday nurse could pick up the Wednesday shift as well. I’m sure I said some other pleading, bawling requests — yes, in the middle of this small quiet restaurant — but the jist was that we needed to have people around we felt comfortable with.
I could tell I got to her, and she said she would talk to the nursing director. She understood. Whether or not it comes to pass, we will see.
After I hung up, Daddy just smiled at me and joked “Well, that got our point across.” I just started laughing, drying my eyes. It was the lighthearted feeling that we both needed but didn’t have yet that day
It was not my intention to lose it on the phone, but my heart had other plans.
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