And so I happily accepted a new job: nurse Anny. The patient: my husband. That guy who had a motorcycle accident 4 weeks ago – you remember?
We have been living pretty much on the second floor since he’s been back (2 steps to the bathroom & 5 steps to the bedroom – perfect for those who cannot walk). For all others (me!!!) it’s like preparing for the next Shanghai vertical marathon: running up & down the stairs with food, post (believe it or not he is still able to place Amazon orders), drinks & visitors… All day. Every day. Great exercise, though. Daily power naps after lunch required (how can I get back to work on Monday?).
It’s been interesting 2 weeks since he’s back home – never a dull moment!
Sleepless nights (I’m a wreck – how are mummies with new Borns doing this?). Lots of pain (killers. Unfortunately not always killing the pain as needed. The first 5 days were tough…). Learning how to carefully touch „zombie blue“ hands w/o hurting him. Loads of laughter (about my no good nursing skills. There’s a reason why I chose to become an engineer. Lol). Physio therapist kicking ass (“time to get moving” – dinners have been changed to ground floor which means hard work for hubby. Luckily the therapist is a huge fan of Ireland!).
Country showers & shaving (gosh, can you imagine how hard it is to shave someone else? Using his shaver means all those lady protection things are missing… same for cutting someone else’s nails… pretty scary (for him)). Serving hot chocolates (at 5am for the soul, milk consumption on a daily high). Cooking comfort food, healthy food & Irish dishes. In between: kisses & hugs.
A new experience: wheel chairs and learning that taking medicine on time is essential (otherwise dying of pain). Daily thrombosis injections („I think you paralyzed my leg now“ – hubby’s comment if the content did land on the floor instead of inside him. Oh and we changed to only stomach now… Lol). Wound and bandage check & change. Both – injections and bandage change – the biggest challenge for me (who never wanted to be a nurse).
I guess I can consider myself an expert by now convincing (I mean by finding) social workers, physio therapist, docs to visit us at home, wheel chair (and various other things) organizer, collecting prescriptions & meds, calling hospitals for next appointments, how to apply for rehab… project management skills definitely helping here. It’s been a full-time job (I’m ready for a beach vacation…)!
We are good & enjoying having each other again. All you need is a little creativity, confidence, positive thoughts & patience. I guess I will continue practicing nurse skills for a little longer (which I’m very happy doing it). We are back, we kind of found our new routine.
To the world out there: enjoy the open beer garden(s)! We have our own kind of alc free beer garden feeling. Cheers!
Stuttgart547 