Oh my gosh.........There are so many things to remember and do as a caregiver. When one of those things slips through the cracks it makes me feel like a total failure.
That happened yesterday. There are certain things that have to be done with Marty's prosthetic. One is having to clean the rubber sleeve that goes on his stump before the leg. Once a week or so it needs to be sanitized to keep bacteria from growing. If it doesn't get sanitized, the potential for bacteria or infection on Marty's stump is likely.
Well.......I got busy. So busy that that thing hasn't been properly sanitized for a while. :( When I was helping Marty out of the shower I got a look at the back of his leg..... Uh oh..... There is a fairly good sized red, blistery looking thing on the back of his stump. Now, I see his stump every night when I have to get him in bed. But....I apparently don't look closely enough at the back of it to notice something like this. Number two caregiver fail.......
We have medicine for these types of bacterial infections, and it will heal, but that's not the point. The point is I'm letting myself get so distracted by the busyness of things that I'm not doing my job. My caregiver job. I'm really trying not to beat myself up, but sometimes it's really hard not to dwell on the things that you miss.
Lesson learned. That sleeve has already been sanitized and in a big way!!!!! I'm going to wash anything that has to come in contact with his stump and this WILL heal and it WON'T happen again. (well at least I hope not.....but if it does we will deal with it)
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