I took care of a serious character named Chuck. His neighbors had called EMS because they hadn't seen Chuck in awhile and his house was kind of disaster. He ended up being ok, but he was getting more confused and wasn't able to take care of the whole personal hygiene part of life, which is a pretty important part of life if you ask me. He also had a little infection in his lower leg, so he came to kick it with us for awhile to figure out a better plan and get some antibiotics. Chuck was awesome, he was completely mobile, which was a big switch from our usual wheelchair bound patients, or patients that needed help with transfers. He was supposed to use his walker out in the hallway though. Chuck probably only slept for about two hours a day, and he was always up to something. Anytime he heard any kind of noise in the hall, Chuck bounded from his chair or bed to come see what was going on. That's why I nicknamed him The Watchdog. The Watchdog also looked EXACTLY like Jack Nicholson, he had crazy white hair and wore these glasses with big black frames which only added to his look. Every time he came out to assess the situation he would always forget his walker, I would shout down the hall, "Watchdog, please grab your walker!" He liked to shout back, "FUCK THE WALKER!" I loved it, the sassier the better. A few times he was in such a rush, he not only forgot his walker, but his pants too and would go sprinting out of his room with nothing but his whitey tighties on and black socks. Pimpin'.
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| The Watchdog, but he had crazier white hair |
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| More like this... |
The Watchdog was tricky, right when you were wondering "what is this guy doing here, he doesn't really need our help.." he would wander up to the nurses station at 11pm on a Sunday with his wallet out and ask me when we were leaving to go to the bank to deposit his work checks. Or confuse me with one of his kids and tell me that he couldn't believe I put him in here. That would quickly help us remember why he was there. He had a roommate Buzz, and one of Buzz's TED hose (compression stocking) went missing shortly after Chuck moved in. One day I noticed The Watchdog carrying something in his hand...it looked suspiciously like Buzz's missing TED hose. I asked The Watchdog, and he denied it, saying that it was his personal book holder and he had brought it from home. He had like 5 books shoved in this TED hose with the end tied off. I asked him if I could see it and he said yes. I asked him why his personal book holder had Buzz's name on it...(we labeled everyone's clothing) and The Watchdog smiled, snagged "his" book holder back and said that he put it on there "to confuse people." Touché Watchdog, touché.
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