New shower aide

The new shower aide, I will call Cara, isn't really new. She's been an aide here for years. She has just moved from working on the floor full time to doing showers. I'm sure she's pleased that her job duties have changed.

Cara's a quiet one. She's never really done my care in my room by herself. I never knew whether that was by chance, or choice. But, she's also never been confrontational with me.

After the nurse told me I would have to wait until later to get a shower, Cara said she'd like to get it done. That was different for me to hear, and I did what I could to help her out.

After pottying, she took me to the shower. She did my whole shower routine by herself. She has helped other aides do my shower previously. So, she was a bit familiar with my routine. But I was impressed when she asked me how I wanted her to shower me. I told her briefly, and said it was a system that worked pretty well  at two different facilities. She seemed to understand that I was trying to be helpful.

Cara had my Friday, complicated shower this morning and did everything pretty quickly. I think we'll do well as a team. I told her I'm afraid of the Hoyer. I also said I don't like showering with the lift pad under me. She said that I'll have to trust her. Maybe that'll be easier to do than I thought.

Cara wrapped me quite warmly with two bath blankets to keep that kept the wet Hoyer pad away from me.

She also rolls me in a much more steady fashion in the hallway. I didn't worry about her hitting my feet on something going to and from the shower..

When she stopped in the hallway to get towels, I told her that I appreciated the fact that she made me a bit more cozy than I'd felt sitting on a wet Hoyer pad previously.

Perspective is important in everything. Cara seems to understand that residents feel better when they have choices. That'll probably make showering residents easier for her.