I wrote this out and realised one I really sad, quite the buzz kill so don't read if you're feel sensitive or emotional. (Involves death)
But it really was a real life wtf did miss fancy pants just say 😐🤦♀️
I started working bank shifts at a ridiculously expensive nursing home (I'd never even stayed somewhere so posh before, let alone worked) and I'm getting a lady (the title, not the sex) who was very disabled and old and no longer spoke washed and dressed, talking to her through her fancy clothes and making sure she looked smart and still comfy, all expected stuff. Anyway (she looked beautiful and had lovely skin) I was chatting to her as I was doing her hair and her very posh daughter was visiting.
Introduced herself and sat with her mum as I carried on talking to the Lady, telling her what I'm doing as I'm going and her daughter stops me and says, "why are you working here then darling? Doesn't the smell of the elderly upset you?" And it was so ... pleasantly asked, like she'd just said about the weather. I was so shocked. But that was small fry compared to when I got a shift in their sister home, an even more posh version.
I was asked to assist a dying woman, very wealthy but I'm guessing her relationship with her children had been fractured. She had been attacking the staff all morning and she was literally a few hours away from passing, I sat down on her bed, and asked her, may I wash and dress you before your family visit, I think you'll feel calmer if you feel a bit more fresh. Bless her she agreed and I got her into fresh night dress and bed bathed her before her children (adults, ds & dd) arrived. I'd asked the other staff to leave as quite honestly they'd just been pissing her off. I was the only staff member who spoke her language fluently and I think if you're about 2 hours away from death, you're not at your most tolerant. Her dc came in, I'd been reading to her and stroking her hair, but when her dc arrived I went to make them drinks and sat outside, let them know I was only outside should they need me.
Usually in that situation you're needed to change your patient or bedding, or fetch drinks. I'll never ever forget this, 13 minutes later because it was 13:13, her dc came out and her DD said, "we've said goodbye to mummy now, we're off into Chester now for lunch. We've a table booked for 14:30" then told me how much they'd been looking forward to going this pub (btw it's a bit shite, I've been, love a good feed as much as your next lass but not enough to skip my dying mums last hour) I wasn't real staff there, so I didn't really give a fuck about them, even if she was a shitty parent, no idea if she was,13 minutes was cold. I explained that it was their last opportunity to ever sit with their mum, and I'd hate them to regret leaving so early and the DD just says, "Oh Lauren, don't worry, she'll be much happier with you, you're used to all this death". WITH THE MN CLASSIC TINKLY LITTLE LAUGH.
She said it like it was a dark episode of keeping up appearances. I almost expected her to message the home to update me on her moules marinièr and lemon posset later on.
If anyone wants to know the outcome, I stayed with her for a couple of hours after my shift ended. I just cuddled her and held her hand. Her GP was very close to her and arrived to sit with her, she passed with her GP not long after I left. She seemed much happier with her gp, who wasn't a stranger, so I felt comfortable leaving her then.