New Nervous Caregiver, input welcome

[slow_runner]

Yes, the images are plastered everywhere Phil lol

And you are correct, who cares about anatomy? Not me.

When I'm getting a procedure and nurses struggle to cover my stuff I tell them, "relax! Every nurse in northern NJ has seen it. I no longer have any vanity. Just do your business!"

[pfcs49]

When I'm getting a procedure and nurses struggle to cover my stuff I tell them, "relax! Every nurse in northern NJ has seen it. I no longer have any vanity. Just do your business!"

[StephenD.]

Sounds like you're starting off on the right foot! Asking questions and preparing ahead of time is way more than a lot of other caregivers will do.

Here's my thoughts. It sounds like you're nervous because he's a male and you're a female. Speaking as a person that spent a fair amount of time in hospitals, being attended to by people all over the gender spectrum, I can assure you that I have no sense of shame anymore! And, I think that you'll find that that's the case for lots of people in our situation. Once you've spent several months and hours with people having access to your body all the time, propriety kind of takes a back seat.

All of that is my long winded way of saying, you're probably making it a bigger deal than it needs to be.

Just my 2¢

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Standard Disclaimer: Take what you read above for what it's worth. If it's not applicable or helpful, please feel free to ignore it!

[Hawk]

Don't give up on us guys quadriplegics sometimes it's just frustrating that we can't do what we used to be able to do, my wife came in as a CNA and I had to teach her how to get me up in the Hoyer and do basically everything I needed her to do as she was brand new in the agency and like I mentioned in the beginning we ended up getting married (27 years ago) so hang in there because all quads are not assholes!!

[SCI-Nurse]

I would call the Barrows Rehab Institute, and ask to speak to the outpatient SCI nurse there and ask who they use. (KLD)

[Norm]

Since the topic of Arizona came up I was wondering if anybody knew of a good urologist in Phoenix I'm moving there next month.

[NattheCaregiver]

Ohh, nice! Bet you have some good stories too! We rural folks oughta swap field notes on surviving poverty and all that....

[spinner]

I grew up in rural Louisiana so you just described home to me

[NattheCaregiver]

Thanks! I usually assume a formal English teacher register w/ ppl I don't know, but yes, fun to let your guard down sometimes!

[Patrick Madsen]

Loved the joke Natthe; welcome to our little forum here. We're more like family and here for each other.

[NattheCaregiver]

Joke! Joke! I promise previous post was a joke! If I was trying to lure someone over here, I'd try to make the place sound more appealing. But yeah, we don't even have a Starbucks here. And when a kid scrapes their knee or something around here, a parent or grandparent is likely to say something like "Just put some dirt on it." So yeah, I get it. Apologies, my creative writing background got the better of me. If it's inappropriate, just delete, no hard feelings.

[SCI-Nurse]

Most people with SCI/D are reluctant to relocate to a rural area with limited or no health care facilities due to issues with UTIs, infected wounds, and uncontrolled autonomic dysreflexia. Plus it's TEXAS! (KLD)

[NattheCaregiver]

Oh and btw, smity50, you don't have to be complicated about this. All you have to do is buy a plane ticket, get over to Central Texas. I'll take care of the rest.

There's a beautiful property for rent near me, only $400 a month. Yes, I've lived there. The landlady is really sweet, just don't expect her to do anything when the toilet fails. The shower doesn't drain and the paneling of the walls are coming off in places. No big. The mice are really a non-issue. Just put out some cat food on the porch each evening so the feral cats will come. Yes, the city council has issued a no-feeding policy in town, to address the feral cat issue, but the policy is in no way enforced, so no worries there. If the cats become too much of a nuisance, I know a nice, middle-aged lady who has volunteered her husband to "take care of them." This service is free to anyone. I'll teach you how to kill the venomous snakes around here with a hoe. If you can't get the hang of that, I know a sweet 80-yr-old lady at church. She will kill anything at any time, all you have to do is ask.

I'll teach you about the locals, who's helpful and who's best to be avoided. The guy who gets around by driving his riding lawn mower in the ditch is cool. He just got too many DWI's, his license was revoked, so he gets around that way. It's "legal enough," and it's really a public service he's doing anyway, mowing the ditch at no charge, so don't judge. The guy with zebras in his pasture is kind of an ass, he's got loads of money, and the zebras are really just a flex move. He's kind of full of himself, so just don't get cornered by him at the feed store bc you'll be stuck listening to him talk about himself for awhile. He is still single surprisingly. About the feedstore: it closes at 6 pm, so if you don't get there before then, you're screwed. The nearest HEB is just 30 minutes away, so it's really no big deal unless you run out of cat food.

I'll debrief you on the language as well. "S/he's about as useful as tits on a boar hog" means the person is not a good worker, don't hire them. "It'll make a turd" means the food is not good, but it is in fact edible, it won't kill you.

It's all pretty simple around here, I mean it's real charming, and I offer all this special training for life in rural Texas at no additional charge. Think it over is all I'm saying. And you can't beat my homemade dewberry jelly.

[NattheCaregiver]

Hi there sir. Thank you so much for the compliment. I have you fooled, lol. I've made plenty of mistakes in life. As it is, my challenge is finding someone close by to care for. (live in VERY rural Texas). Nothing but cows and older folks w/ dementia as far as the eye can see, lol. Caring for dementia folks is very good, important work, but my heart isn't there, first quad person I cared for was a great experience and it made me feel super purposeful. Since my mom passed in January, I've been at very loose ends w/ no one to care for and am going nuts. Thanks again for the compliment sir.

[smity50]

You are a good person. I wish you were in Arizona.