Today has been an exhausting day for me personally. The back of my throat is really sore and swollen. A 6am awakening from the dogs this morning after a bad night’s sleep wasn’t the best start to the day. Couple that with our oven has packed in so hot food is a bit tricky. Sod’s law that it will pack in on the first day of a Bank Holiday Weekend when you can’t get anyone out for love nor money. I also decided to cut the grass (1.5 hours) as it was the first sunny day for weeks, but did so on an empty stomach. So, come 11pm tonight after leaving kp asleep, I was ready to hit the sack and knew I would go out like a light. I was in bed and had just switched the TV off, when………………..

Phonecall from kp at 11pm.

kp:- “David, I need you to come in.”
dp:- “What’s wrong love ?”
kp:- “I just need you to come in”
dp:- “Is there someone there ?”
kp:- “Yes”

Of course there was someone there. She can’t use the phone without help.

dp:- “I’ll be there in about 30 minutes.”

Something was up, I wasn’t sure what.

When I arrived, kp explained that she couldn’t get comfy at all, the buzzer had broken so she couldn’t call for help, and when she called by shouting, noone came. She was really fed up.

I was sceptical about the buzzer being broken, so I spoke to a nurse who confirmed it was and that an engineer was coming out. I even tested it myself. It was well and truly broke. An engineer did indeed come out and replaced it.

Karen was absolutely exhausted and dying to sleep. But she really couldn’t get comfy. The next 4 hours consisted of the following routine repeated every 5-10 minutes.

The routine
kp:- “David, I need moving”
dp:- “Which side love ?”
kp:- “I don’t KNOW”

1. Blanket Off
2. Sheets Off
3. Remove Back Support Blanket
4. Remove Leg Pillow (used for cushioning)
5. Lay Bed Flat
6. Check catheter tube won’t be blocked by intended move.
7. Move kp to correct pre-move place on bed (hard work on own) (if she is being moved onto left side, she needs to be as far right on the bed as possible)
8. Roll up Blanket ready to prop kp up
9. Position in safe reachable place so it doesn’t fall off during move.
10. Put Karen’s left arm (dead one) on her stomach and ask her to hold it
11. Place Pillow between legs at correct angle so it supports kp’s top leg after the move.
12. Do the move itself, which involves supporting kp’s whole back and bum with 2 arms.
13. dp:- “3-2-1″
14. The Move
15. kp:- “Ow, Ow, Ow, Ow”"
16. Position Back Support Blanket in back so she doesn’t roll flat on back.
17. Position Legs in cocked position so they are comfy.
18. Replace Sheets
19. Replace Top Blanket
20. “Is that ok ?”
21. “Yes”

At this point, I would go back to trying to get some sleep, which isn’t easy with 2 chairs, very little space and to compound this routine, it was barrier care still, so I was wearing a plastic pinny and latex gloves which make your hands sweat like hell. Well, they didn’t last long. After about 10 of these routines, I was telling MRSA to “Come and have a go, if you think you’re hard enough”. (No gloves, no pinny).

I dozed a couple of times, but it wasn’t sleep.

If I was getting frustrated, kp must have been going bonkers, yet she remained calm throughout. She didn’t raise her voice once. I better repeat that. She didn’t raise her voice once.

There was just no getting kp comfy. kp said I should get the nurses to try. So, 3 female nurses came in and did the routine. 5 minutes later, I was sent for a specific named nurse who had the knack of getting her comfy. He tried. 5 minutes later, I was instructed to recall the named nurse and tell him “one last try”, kp had an idea.

No Joy !

So, it was back to me to keep trying. I was so so tired. The turning routine which probably takes about 2-3 mins if you’re on form was starting to take longer and longer. I couldn’t remember what to do next. I would stand by the bed and look at what I had done and try and recall what the next step was. The longer it takes the more uncomfortable it is for Karen. But again she didn’t complain. We did get lots of “Ow”s. But never did she raise her voice. When I was getting to my most frustrated later on, I wanted to say “Look, you can’t get comfortable, go to sleep uncomfortable”, but instead I said “I love you” and gave her a kiss. I think kp secretly thinks I was saying the former at times as she thanked me a few times on the night for being there.

By about 3am, it was clear that moves weren’t working. kp was sick of being moved and uncomfortable and just wanted a sleeping tablet to put her out of it. I spoke to the nurse who said the only thing that would knock her out was “Tramazopal” (something like that), but that if she took it at this time, she would be asleep all day. kp said she still wanted it, so he checked with the Doctor, who reitereated what the nurse said. A few more turns, and 20 minutes later kp was “in agony”.

kp:- “I want some painkillers”

I got some painkillers from the nurse and 2 moves later at 4am, kp was sleeping like a baby. GOAL !!!!

I rang Marie and asked her to come in for 8am (I was on that shift) went home, hit the sack, and slept.

Hope she is feeling more settled today.