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Picky Picky

If my caregiver doesn't know how to react to a slight choking incident, I refuse to allow them to feed me. If you had a DNR Do Not Resuscitate order attached to your name, Wouldn't you? Furthermore, if you have a choking incident, the Powers That Be are eager to downgrade your diet. Yeesh! Does slurry sound good to you? (Involuntary shudder)

If a caregiver doesn't know how to properly turn me, clean, or transfer me without obstructing my breathing or endangering me in some way, Why would I allow them to help me? It's my life that I'm PROTECTING. I want to live. 

I dismiss a lot of caregivers from my room! A Helluva lot.  Nurses and caregivers, alike, must be able to communicate with me. I have a major speech issue, therefore, they should be able to work a rudimentary alphanumeric communication board or setup my communication device, or have a basic understanding of how it works. And yet, this is a major lack. A major lack and the root cause of all the safety issues that I encounter, over and over and over, ad nauseum.


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