All in a Day's Work

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After my last post I decided to write about some of the situations I have encountered over my 10 years of employment as a home care aide. One of my first clients would be covered in her own feces upon every visit. She tried to get her brief off and made quite a mess. Because she was bed bound, I had to clean her up in her hospital bed, and then clean the bed. I have had my fair share of dirty old men. A few were unable to bathe themselves. The comments I got were "oh, you know what you are doing", "oh, that feels so good." I would tell them that everyone enjoys a good bath and being clean. That old fella had Alzheimer's. Had one that would meet me at the door in his birthday suit. He kept his porn in a drawer on top of his towels and washcloths. He would wait to see my reaction when I went to grab the linens for his shower. I just tossed them aside and went about my business. He stopped being such a perv when I told him that he would have to at least wear his boxer shorts or I wouldn't stay and had reported his behavior to my boss. He cleaned up his act. One client chased me out of his apartment as he was wrapping a towel around his waist. Yeah, we don't provide services for him anymore. I have cleaned up cat and dog feces that was stuck on a floor or in a shower stall. The client gave me a putty knife to scrape it up. Yay. Have been asked to drag out 25lb bags filled with cat litter to the outside garbage bins. I put my foot down and said that it wasn't household trash and couldn't do it. Mopped floors covered with cat feces and urine. Of course that isn't the most cleanly environment. I felt I needed to be sanitized from head to toe when I left the house. Stood at a sink filled with dishes and washed them all while ants crawled all over the sink, floors, cupboards, and my arms and hands. Felt like I was in an Alfred Hitchcock movie. Cleaned out an underbed storage box filled with cat litter. The client had multiple cats and the smell would singe your nose hairs. The new company doesn't allow us to clean up after pets so we no longer do that! Yay on that! I have entered homes where the client is a chain smoker and so is their spouse. The smoke was so thick you could cut it with a knife. The walls and furnishings were covered in yellow/brown stains from the smoke. I opened windows and turned fans on to get rid of the smoke. Even so, I was breathing in their second hand smoke and smelled like an ashtray when I left. Fruit flies from hell! Bags upon bags of fermenting trash, dishes left in various places filled with leftover food. You search for a mask quickly so you can cover your nose and mouth so you don't inhale the fruit flies. Commodes filled to overflowing because the client refuses to empty it on their own. A few don't require one and when it isn't on their care plan, you don't perform the task. What do you do? Had a client that would spit mucous on a wall. I brought in a bucket filled with soapy water and a rag. Gave them a pair of gloves and had them clean it up. Nasty. And then there are the clients that give you a shopping list a mile long and expect you to do it in one trip. I have since learned that I can say no. We split it up over a few days. There was a time when we had to move furniture, climb on step ladders to do tasks. Not anymore. Even if it were still okay, I refuse to do it. Not going to injure myself. We are not a cleaning crew, we are homemakers and do light housekeeping. Now mind you, not every client is the same. I do have some really great clients that aren't as intense. But, as you can see, I have had my fair share of fun over the years.