Working full time, caregiving, and dealing with paid caregivers means you have three full-time jobs. At first, when Mary’s needs were minimal, it wasn’t too difficult to find caregivers. We did get rid of a couple early on – one who tried to convert Mary to her religion. Um, really? Another who sat on the couch and slept the whole day, not waking up when Mary called to her to ask for a drink of water. As the months went by, Mary needed more skilled care. We started going through caregivers more quickly. We typically had four caregivers scheduled in a week, since we needed 15 hours a day. I kept begging for them to hire and train back-ups, but that never happened. I wrote this in September 2015.
“Caregiver hell week. One caregiver decided Tuesday that she’s now in over her head and Friday would be her last day here. Another caregiver disappeared for a week then cancelled her shifts – the agency sent a replacement last Saturday. We thought we would give her a shot. Wednesday didn’t go well, then yesterday she called out for today. Buh-bye. Yesterday evening’s caregiver called out sick. The agency is sending yet another new one tomorrow to train with our Sunday CNA (who rocks). Please let this one work out, or I don’t have caregivers after 3pm during the week M/W/F and I have to work.
“The agency keep sending new people that have the right backgrounds but have crappy attitudes. I won’t have it. Yes, I’ve been thinking about another agency or hiring direct, but that has its own headaches…. the one coming to train tomorrow is a CNA brand new to the agency but who was a shift lead at a “memory care” center. The agency manager plans to only send CNAs out now, with the level of care Mary needs, but sometimes their egos are bigger than their licenses.
“My favorite line (not from the manager, another office worker): “but the girls are learning so much from Mary!” Excuse me, she’s not here to be their frikkin teacher!”
Mary and Grumpy Cat sharing a moment.