The only way to combat poor treatment in personal care homes is for families to become involved, writes Jim Zinkhan.
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I have experienced most of what was described in Murray Mandryk’s Dec. 14th column with my parents and wife.
Here’s the problem: You have 10 to 15 patients to look after, either in hospital or care home and one or more of these patients will pull out their IV tubes if not supervised 24 hours a day or have their hands tied to the bed rails.
Tying their hands to the bed rails causes the patient to react violently and noisily; so the second solution is lots of drugs to calm them down. But what other options are available to hospital or care home staff? None.
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The only option is you: You have to get totally involved in your family member’s care. You will have to provide that 24-hour care to prevent them from being tied up to the rail. You will have to keep them calm to prevent the application of the zombie-creating drugs.
I have provided 24-hour care for both parents and my wife. I am worn out, so I now hire outside help. Yes, this is very expensive. My wife’s present living expenses are $10,000 per month.
Most people can’t afford this. Thanks to God that I can, by selling everything we own. This included our treasured 50-years-to-accumulate car collection and family farm, but my wife is worth every penny. Even though it breaks my heart totally everyday to see 33 of our treasured cars just sitting outside.
Hopefully, eventually no one will have to go through what Mr. Nachtigall and I and hundreds of others have. But the reality is, we would rather build stadiums and swimming pools, than build hospitals and care homes.
Jim Zinkhan, Regina
Rude phone user at Christmas concert
Recently, I attended the Regina Catholic High Schools choir concert at the Conexus Arts Centre. It was a full house and the talent and excitement of the performers was wonderful to see. The music teachers certainly deserve credit for their dedication and instruction.
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Unfortunately, what should have been a very enjoyable concert was spoiled by the inconsiderate and annoying man beside us who played on his phone the entire evening.
This was no 12-year old child. He was a 40-something man — perhaps a parent of one of the singers. When asked to put the phone away, he scowled at us and attempted to shield the light from the phone with one hand while he continued to play on it with the other hand.
The continual flashing of the light from the phone was extremely distracting. The next time you attend a performance of any kind, please put that that phone away so the people in neighbouring seats can enjoy the show without distraction.
Ken Linnen, Regina
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