A New Attendant in Town
I recently hired a new attendant -- to get me out of bed in the morning, brush my teeth, shave my face, and get me set up for the day. It is usually hard to find someone who is reliable, pleasant, motivated, and not too heavy-handed (I could tell you some stories, but you'll have to buy my book!), but I seem to have lucked out this time.
That doesn't mean that training a new attendant -- even a good one -- is a walk in the park. Trust me when I say it's not very easy to direct someone where to move a toothbrush in your mouth with a mouthful of toothpaste. Or that it is scary teaching someone how to operate the Hoyer lift that moves me from my bed to my wheelchair because I could be crushed, dropped or whacked with a metal bar. Or that I get nervous the first few times someone moves my legs to attach the legrests to my wheelchair, as my knees cannot be extended more than 90 degrees without hurting them.
Mistakes can always happen, but if I find an attendant who is willing to listen and really seems to care, I'll take my chances. So far, so good...
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