myra mains
New Here
Hello
I am glad I found this site. Perhaps my experience is not as traumatic as some, but I find myself dealing with some issues that do not seem to resolve themselves on there own.
Let me start with my story. I have worked at a group home for physically and mentally challenged adults for the past 15 years. We have 8 individuals of various mental and physical capabilities, some are higher functioning than others. I have formed a bond with these people, and in many ways they are like my family, sometimes staff is the only family they know. They are getting up in years and I always knew in the back of my mind that the day may come when we would be faced with the inevitable. Every year we are re-certified in cpr and first aid.
I work 3rd shift so there is only 1 other staff and 1 nurse on duty. Well the unthinkable occurred the other night. We had not been on shift for more that 15 minutes when we heard the most horrible blood chilling scream from one of the bedrooms. This particular client is non verbal, a quad, and profoundly mr. The look on her face was pure terror, she was panicked and flailing with all of her might with her good arm.
I told the other staff to call the nurse who was next door at another site and told her to get her over stat. The nurse made it over quickly hooked her up to blood pressure and ot and could not get any stats, at this point she was still conscious. She told the other staff to call 911. This staff was totally freaking out so we sent her to the bottom of the driveway to direct the ambulance in. By this time her breathing was sporadic, and she was losing consciousness. Some how we got her to the floor and started cpr. This women, who I cared about, shared my life with for 15 years, died right before my eyes, but my cpr training kicked in and I was able to give the compressions and keep my head about me. By the time the paramedics arrived we had gotten a faint heartbeat and they took over. The had to intubate her and transported to the nearest hospital where she is still at, in the icu on a ventilator.
After this was all over I felt like I was going to pass out, but I kept it together. The part that angers me is that no member of management or upper administration ever called to ask how we were doing, if we needed a break or a breather or some kind of support. We were expected to go about our usual routine as though nothing had happened. One of the managers even had the nerve to ask if I could work past my usual shift so another staff could go sit at the hospital. I declined. The nurse and i received no acknowledgment about what we had gone through, or even a thank you, or job well done..................nothing.
The next week was very difficult for me, I could not sleep, I kept seeing the whole thing again running through my mind like a record. I had anger towards management and I could not even shed tears for my client. I was numb, still am to a certain extent. Is this a normal reaction? Well it eventually go away, these feelings. I finally went to my PCP and he prescribed me Klonipin for sleep so that has helped. I think this company I work for needs to come up with some kind of protocol to support first responders in these types of situations, anyway, thank you for allowing me to tell my story.............it has helped...............regards
I am glad I found this site. Perhaps my experience is not as traumatic as some, but I find myself dealing with some issues that do not seem to resolve themselves on there own.
Let me start with my story. I have worked at a group home for physically and mentally challenged adults for the past 15 years. We have 8 individuals of various mental and physical capabilities, some are higher functioning than others. I have formed a bond with these people, and in many ways they are like my family, sometimes staff is the only family they know. They are getting up in years and I always knew in the back of my mind that the day may come when we would be faced with the inevitable. Every year we are re-certified in cpr and first aid.
I work 3rd shift so there is only 1 other staff and 1 nurse on duty. Well the unthinkable occurred the other night. We had not been on shift for more that 15 minutes when we heard the most horrible blood chilling scream from one of the bedrooms. This particular client is non verbal, a quad, and profoundly mr. The look on her face was pure terror, she was panicked and flailing with all of her might with her good arm.
I told the other staff to call the nurse who was next door at another site and told her to get her over stat. The nurse made it over quickly hooked her up to blood pressure and ot and could not get any stats, at this point she was still conscious. She told the other staff to call 911. This staff was totally freaking out so we sent her to the bottom of the driveway to direct the ambulance in. By this time her breathing was sporadic, and she was losing consciousness. Some how we got her to the floor and started cpr. This women, who I cared about, shared my life with for 15 years, died right before my eyes, but my cpr training kicked in and I was able to give the compressions and keep my head about me. By the time the paramedics arrived we had gotten a faint heartbeat and they took over. The had to intubate her and transported to the nearest hospital where she is still at, in the icu on a ventilator.
After this was all over I felt like I was going to pass out, but I kept it together. The part that angers me is that no member of management or upper administration ever called to ask how we were doing, if we needed a break or a breather or some kind of support. We were expected to go about our usual routine as though nothing had happened. One of the managers even had the nerve to ask if I could work past my usual shift so another staff could go sit at the hospital. I declined. The nurse and i received no acknowledgment about what we had gone through, or even a thank you, or job well done..................nothing.
The next week was very difficult for me, I could not sleep, I kept seeing the whole thing again running through my mind like a record. I had anger towards management and I could not even shed tears for my client. I was numb, still am to a certain extent. Is this a normal reaction? Well it eventually go away, these feelings. I finally went to my PCP and he prescribed me Klonipin for sleep so that has helped. I think this company I work for needs to come up with some kind of protocol to support first responders in these types of situations, anyway, thank you for allowing me to tell my story.............it has helped...............regards
