I was working one of my 1st home care jobs when I met Jane Doe a 58 year old diabetic with a non-healing foot wound. Jane was very non-compliant and did not follow her diabetic diet nor the wound care for her foot. So I was sent out daily to do wound care on her foot wound.
I will try and describe the condition of the home. The floors had carpet on them at one time which was worn to but a few threads and the mice and cockroaches had pretty much taken over. Now I feel bad when someone is unable to care for their home due to illness and have been known to clean a patients house for them. This was not the case for this patient. She was as able to clean her house as she was to do her own wound care, she just chose not to.
I was at her house for a routine visit one day and had black jeans on. I kneeled down on the floor to do her wound care and imagine my surprise when my knee hit something mushy and wet. I stood up and said "Jane! What is on your carpet!?" Jane replied "Oh don't worry about that *nurse*, I vomited there earlier and didn't clean it up." Yeah she vomited on the floor and just left it. She was perfectly able to clean it up, yet did not. The worst part is she thought it was ok to vomit on the floor and leave it. I seriously reconsidered my profession that day. Lucky for you I didn't
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