A long time on the shower chair

When I was left on the shower chair for almost four hours at my previous nursing home back in May, I thought it was a fluke. But then, it happened again.

I moved in this nursing home over a week ago. I'm trying to get used to the aides trying to learn how to take care of me. They're trying to get used to me, as well. I'm hoping we can figure out an arrangement that meets all of our needs. So far, things have worked pretty reasonably. Unfortunately, when things do not work out well, I'm the one who usually has to wait for things.

This morning was a case in point. The aides got me up at 6:30 a.m., and put me in the bathroom. I was ready to get out not long after. But, I couldn't pull the call light cord hard enough to turn it on. So I had to wait.

When my aide got to me, she said there is no time to wash me up. So, she put me in my room and I had to wait for breakfast trays to be passed. As I sat there, I so wished I had made sure that my TV was hooked up before this morning. But, even so, I had no idea where my TV remote is. I knew plugging the TV in and attaching the cable, would not provide TV without a about. I thought of that as I sat there with nothing to do.

Breakfast arrived around 8 AM. My aide fed me my breakfast. I went back to the bathroom. When I finished I was told I was getting a shower sometime after 9 AM. That meant I had to wait almost an hour sitting in my shower chair – which is not comfortable for very long.

I waited until way after 9 AM. In fact, it was 9:30 a.m. when two aides came in to help me restand and get more comfortable on the shower chair. That's when I found out the shower aide was not coming in until 10 AM. I knew I would wait another 30 minutes and possibly longer.

I was okay for about 45 minutes. Then my left leg started to hurt badly. It hurt so badly, I ended up crying. My roommate put her call light on but the aides must've all been busy. None of them came my way.

When the shower aide finally walked in about 10:30 a.m., I was really hurting from the pressure on the back of my left leg.

The shower aide and my aide took me to the shower room and I got a shower for the first time in over a week. I can't really say how much better I felt after a shower and shampoo.

My shower wasn't finished until about 11:30 a.m. That's way too long for my shower to take. But, there is a learning curve to getting used to my routine. I'm hoping they wood would get used to me quickly.

I would prefer no more four hour waits sitting on the shower chair.