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Feb 23, 2011, 12:56 PM
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Member Since: Jun 2007
Location: Chicago, Illinois
Posts: 5,518
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Good for you Jennaorgana. I was an inpatient recently, confined to a bed, and it was an interesting view of the world and it's people.
I was on a medical floor, just me and another woman - but we were considered the "trouble-makers" and were placed at the end of the hall. The woman next to me was suffering from diabetes/kidney problems, as well as Down's syndrome - she had some trust/confusion issues, and I can't really blame her.
I wasn't allowed to get out of bed because I was a "fall risk" due to my severe dehydration and amyloidosis.
We needed to be constantly monitored, so a "babysitter" was assigned to our rooms, in order to free up the nursing staff. Those poor nurses were running as fast as they could to care for each of their patients. The "babysitters" looked just as frazzled.
An elderly lady was "babysitting" one night when my nurse came in to speak with her - they spoke in Lithuanian. After the nurse left, I commented that her language sounded pretty - but I don't know the language and was not eavesdropping on her conversation.
She told me the nurse was her daughter, and she lives with her. She sometimes works double shifts - or whenever she gets called back to replace one of the babysitters. This was one of those nights. Her husband was in Lithuania, caring for his elderly father.
I was thrilled when someone came in to relieve her. She was such a nice woman and really needed some rest. 
Good luck to you on your recovery, healing and growth. 
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