So once upon a time I have a job. I love my job so much. I work with people with special needs and I teach them how to behave at a job and help them achieve their behavior and hygiene goals.
My job can also be very frightening. I'm sure if I would have witnessed a day at my job before I was offered the job, I would have turned it down. I never would have been able to picture myself doing what I'm doing. I never cease to amaze myself. :)
I work with really aggressive people. My first day I thought I was going to die, but I've gotten used to that feeling. I really feel like I can do anything now. I've gotten hit, kicked, drooled on, pinched, pushed, pulled, bruised, scratched on accident, clawed on purpose, coughed on, bitten (in many places including a very vulnerable target), hair pulled, pants pulled down, sneezed on, vomited on. I've changed diapers, cleaned up urine off the ground, showered down people that had an accident, gotten various bodily liquids on my bare hands such as vomit, urine, fecal matter, snot, toothpaste drool, food just out of someone's mouth. I've gotten my food stolen, gone hungry, food thrown at me, my own food thrown on the ground, clothes stretched and holes bitten in. I've heard of a client putting a used feminine hygiene product in a male staff's hand face down. I've witnessed heads banged on tile walls and tile floors, germaphobes, bloody noses, split heads, choking, seizures, concussions, UTI's, clients ripping shirts off themselves (and others), clients flipping off staff, clients cussing up a storm at staff, staff getting stalked by clients. It's great! I really enjoy it strangely enough.
Today was a day that I wanted to beat people up. First of all we go on the city buses to visit the community. As we were getting on the bus (I didn't notice), but the bus driver was lowering the wheelchair ramp, but I started getting on the bus and the bus driver scuzzes me off, yells "THANKS A LOT" at me, and glares at me some more. Thanks for the customer service lady.
Also, I have a non-verbal client who was really sick and vomiting last Friday and she's had diahrrea. You are not supposed to come to work when you have diahrrea. You are sick and you will spread it around. Anyway, her home staff stuck her in a Depend so she wouldn't get diahrrea on her pants and underwear (she's perfectly capable of going to the bathroom independently). Well, this particular client didn't know how to handle a Depend so she didn't try going to the bathroom in the toilet. She has a history of not going to the bathroom for long periods of time so I figured that's what was happening. As we were leaving she had a seizure (which is normal for her) and she wet (through the Depend that I didn't know she was wearing). I thought to myself "Wow! She didn't wet that much. That's lucky because we're just leaving."
I go to clean it up. DIAHRREA IN A STINKING DEPEND. Who knows how long it's been there? I was surprised we didn't smell her! I felt so awful because she couldn't communicate to me that she needed to go to the bathroom and she couldn't communicate that she needed to be changed. I have no idea how long she was sitting and stewing. It was ridiculous that her home staff did not inform me that she was wearing a Depend and it irked me that they were too lazy to respect her and take care of her while she was sick. Anyway. As I was cleaning her I realize there's a hole in the finger of my glove. BLEH. But surprisingly I didn't dry heave. Poor girl leans her behind on the wall and gets diahrrea on the wall and on the toilet seat and it falls on the ground and on her clothes and shoes. I felt so bad for her. It was a change of heart moment because usually I would be like "Oh my gosh, why did I have to be the one to get roped in to doing this?" but this time I just felt so terrible that she had been treated that way.
Anyway, I'm so grateful that I've been blessed with the capability to do things myself and not have someone with me every waking moment. I'm so grateful for my job and all it teaches me and I'm pretty sure that getting doors slammed in my face will seem like a breeze after this!
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