Have a Hum-Drum Day

I order my own supplies from the CCAC Case Manager. Each time I place an order, I'm reminded of the time she came to the house to do an assessment.

While patients are on CCAC service, their needs are assessed. The Case Manager evaluates the suitability of the services in use and may recommend that different, additional or fewer services be made available to the client.

It was sometime last summer. John was out of town with work. Andrew was at home. Me. The dog. Jessica was finishing 3 days of work in Pickering. My meeting with Jenya would have to end by a specific time. I had to pick Jess up from the GO station.

I met Jenya at the door. The dog stole her shoes before I could warn her not to remove them. The questionnaire/evaluation form is completed online using her laptop. We get about 1/4 through the task, and I feel very unwell.

I deal with it. We continue. The doorbell sounds. David has been inadvertently locked out of his house. No problem. Stay here until someone gets home.

Jenya is surprised to learn that despite not eating, I still prepare meals for others. I don't find it too surprising. I just figured that other people still need to eat. The dog needs to go out. The dog needs to come in. The dog goes out. The dog comes in. The dog apparently isn't feeling very well. He gets sick in the house.

I deal with it. We continue. Jenya is surprised to learn that despite not feeling well, I still do things every day. Jenya is surprised that I'm so independent with my meds and TPN. She offers to finish the interview another time because it's obvious I don't feel well. I tell her that we may as well do it now. I can't say for certain that any other day will be better.

And so it goes. Phone calls. Plans made. Plans changed. A friend's child was possibly having an allergic reaction. What advice could I give? Normal everyday stuff. We're just wrapping up when Jessica calls. This is not a good sign. She's supposed to be on the train already.

She has been on the train. But she took it east instead of west and now she's in Oshawa! The easternmost station of the commuter rail system! She tells me which train she will be on, heading to points west, and approximately what time it will arrive here. Thank goodness she's a problem solver.

Somebody had a commitment that evening. I don't remember who or what, but I know I made some calls and worked around this latest obstacle. I said to Jenya, "If we're done here, I've got to take care of this." She tells me that if she has any further questions, she'll be in touch.

The next day brings a blizzard of phone calls. Jenya has contacted everyone involved with my care, at the community level, and at the hospital. Her message: We are not doing enough for this client. We need to do more. Do you know how tough this is? You would not believe what she's going through!

I am contacted by a person from each level of care: TPN Clinic, VON Team Leader and the Home Nurse. I tell them each the same thing. They are doing all they can to help me with the HPN and hydration therapy. The symptoms associated with gastroparesis are unrelenting, unforgiving and unpredictable.

Yes, I agreed with all, sometimes it would be a nice break to have a hum-drum day.

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