social work

I have long been attached to that particular health care field because I'm a "people person" with a strong urge to, not fix, but act as an advocate for someone else.  Kind of sorta' a conduit.  I have always held it in my heart that if you have a giving spirit it increases your serotonin!  Not speaking about money exactly but acts of charity by helping others.  Each of us has a life history that is scarred by pain and troubles.  Holding on to those emotions results in all sorts of health problems.  People with mental illness have an even harder time just trying to be normal and function.  Often this leads to substance abuse and anger issues.  Drugs and anger are bad, umkay?  

The other day I was telling somebody the story of way back in the day when some ER doc tried me to draw blood from a dead guy who had been in a cold wet ditch all night.  As we all know, there was no blood to be gotten from his veins so he went to plan B.  "Draw it from his heart!"  I was like WTF????  You're the doctor here.  And I remember the guy's socks on those cold dead feet.  Needless to say, MD got his own sample and I went back to the call room for a nap.

Here's the thing.  Every day we have a chance to do the next right thing like saying thank you for an opened door or appreciating good service.  I was at the Chick today and was amazed at what a well oiled machine they are.  Great customer service and atmosphere.  The lady next to me in the waiting area for carryout was actually picking up her sick daughter's lunch on her OWN lunch break.  There are no limits to what moms will do for their kids.  

So back to social work.  I became interested in the philosophy of hospice care about 30 years ago and it has remained a passion for me.  My heroes during that learning curve were EK Ross, John Bradshaw and Melody Beattie.  Once I accepted my co-dependent nature it changed my life.  I knew when I was trying to "fix" things and saw them as opportunities to lose a piece of who I am.  Did I continue to do it?  Yes indeed.  It ain't over 'til the fat lady sings.  

I left my career when the whole place was in total chaos and I had just gone through RTC surgery.  The guy told me that the ends of the cuff were torn and atrophied so much that they could not be reconnected.  Soooo...he scraped off the arthritis and here I am five years later. I am thankful that I didn't have the partial shoulder replacement that would have limited mobility and range of motion.  Or the cadaver patch.  Actually the doc told me he had no experience with that procedure.  

My first year or two of retirement involved having a lot of fun and learning things like yoga.  After that, I had to supplement my SS income with something else, thus my home health career.  I'm not talking through an agency.  Just by word of mouth.  I'm a pretty great companion for somebody who doesn't require a lot of intensive care.  There have been one or two who drove me into the ground.  

As we all age, we should remember how nice it is to have a caregiver who forms a relationship that will never be broken, even with death.  Some day we'll all be up there in heaven bumping spirits ^j^