FoxPhile

Welcome, Lesley! I'm pretty new to Fringe myself, I'm doing my catch-up with the weekly rewatch here on Saturdays. Maybe you can join us sometime?

Kayla - glad to hear the new job is going well. Busy is always good - but more so when you're doing something you actually like.

@l3jandra

Hey Leslie if you like you could introduce yourself here here

LWS53

Thanks for the welcome everyone. I am married with 1 son who is still living with us in the NW of England. My husband recently took early retirement and I gave up work to be a homemaker and help my sister look after our elderly mother who is in the early stages of dementia.

I was a civil servant in the records department of the DWP which was very boring so after a career break to have my son I took various temping jobs until I settled on care work. I did this for about ten years until the physical aspect got a bit too much so I had to give it up.

When I was younger my hobbies were horse riding and Aerobics but now I do Tai Chi and Aqua Zumba which are great fun.

@l3jandra

I'm sorry to here about your mother Leslie

How old is your son?

How many years did you work in general? Wow Tai Chi is great!

Welcome to and to the Fringe board and I hope to see you in more threads

LWS53

I worked for about 35 years all in as there were gaps between jobs while I was temping. I enjoyed working in the local general hospital the most as it gave me a chance to work with patients with a wide variety of ailments and conditions but I saw some really awful consequences of accidents and illnesses. No wonder most of the Fringe gore etc. doesn't gross me out! Working with this sort of stuff does give you a gallows sense of humour.

My son is 24 and is just getting on his feet in the work place as he spent 3 years at University and it was a while before he managed to find a job.

kbcountry37

I spent 5 in college (due to health) and just now getting into work force after two years (again health related and the state I live in isn't known for it's economy).

LWS53

To get a job these days you either have to know someone who already works there or be in the right place at the right time.

My son was lucky that he applied to the agency just as someone walked out of a job after the second day there so they really needed someone. After working on a temporary basis for 3 months they offered him the job full time. It is only a junior position in the accounts department of a small firm selling bathrooms but he loves it and has made a lot of new friends.

@l3jandra

That's good news for your son! The important thing is to feel comfortable in your job

Leslie your job really made the fringe gross parts easier to watch for you! What kind of things did you saw in your job?

LWS53

Well it was meant to be a bit tongue in cheek. I have to be careful how I phrase things because of confidentiality of the patients I assisted and the sensibilities of the audience who may read this.

One of the treatments of wounds that would not heal were special maggots.

Some of the wounds the nurses dressed were pretty horrific and they would need assistance from the care staff. While we were assisting we had to put on a happy face and talk to the patient and play down the seriousness of the situation.

One of the tasks that was mainly a care assistants job was caring for the doubly incontinent patients. Pads and bedding needed changing regularly and as most of these patients had some form of dementia it was what could be described as challenging.

Despite all this I did enjoy the work but had to give it up as I developed arthritis in my knees and chronic back ache.

FoxPhile

Taking care of people who cannot care for themselves can be very challenging - mentally, physically and on anyone with a sensitive stomach. But it's also very rewarding.

I took care of my mother for 3 years after she had a stroke that left her mentally alert and competent, but physically unable to get out of bed. I was lucky in that she did not have any mental issues. Sharp as a tack to the last. But we both had to get over a lot of inhibitions so that I could deal with her personal hygiene.

One of the really great parts about that time, and one that I treasure, is that I really had time to get to know my mother. She led a fascinating life and I only wish I had recorded her telling some of her stories. Except I think that might have made her too self-conscious.

I've heard of using maggots to debride wounds. It's a practice that goes far back in history. I didn't realized it was still used. It makes great sense because the little critters are actually perfectly safe and they can maneuver into places that a surgeon could only access by doing a lot more damage - possibly more damage than good. And once the maggots finish the job, they leave.

LWS53

Sorry to here about your mum it must have been very frustrating for her. I cared for a few people who had been incapacitated by parkinsons, MS and strokes, both in hospital and their own homes. It was amazing the resilience and determination most of them had to live independent lives with such disabilities.

One lady used to go to the park in her electric wheelchair with her little dog on her knee so that he could have a run around.

kbcountry37

Heidi, you mentioning that you wanted to film your mother reminded me of my grandma. I taped her for a project I did back in college and my dad loved it when I showed it to him. Since then, we have taken a camera every time we visit her so we have memories of her.

Dad wants to make documentary on her life because she has amazing stories. I'm always amazed that she lived through what she did.

We did a photo collage for her last birthday and put it on the TV and I was shocked to see the progression of her walking normally, to a cane, to a walker, to a wheelchair/bed. She can't walk anymore. However, she used to play kickball with me in the yard. That's how fast all this happened. It made me treasure the time I have left with her.

FoxPhile

That's great that you've been able to get video of your grandmother, Kayla.

We could never get my mother to stay in front of a camera. I have probably a dozen photos of her in total - and that's including ones taken of her by my grandfather when mom was just a baby. She hated being photographed.

Somewhere I have an old VHS tape that my boyfriend took that has about 2 seconds of my mom right at the end. I keep meaning to dig that one out and get those two seconds transferred to DVD. As short as it is, it's precious.

kbcountry37

She's also legally blind now, as well. She's never been shy of the camera either. My dad is a shutterbug though. Anytime there's a moment worth documenting, he has a camera on him.

We even have video of her in the hospital when she got pneumonia. We mainly did that because she was there over Christmas. We actually were surprised she made it though that hospital stay because she was in such bad condition when she was admitted.

JJH85

Wow, all this chatter has made me think of a few things.

Remember when my father was dying of Cancer, I had to assist in some extremely personal things that I never dreamed in my life I would ever had to do, but it is amazing what you can do when you have to and it's someone you love.

The whole maggot thing got me thinking about The Outlander series. I remember a scene where Claire used them to clean an infected wound that could have possibly lead to gangrene. It was a gross thought, but at the same time, it completely made sense.

And speaking of The Outlander series, the TV series starts August 24th if anyone else has read the books and is interested in that.