Tim usually has to go to India for work ever 12-18 months. He went in April this year and then ended up taking on some additional responsibilities that led to an extra trip early July. He got home and then 1 week later had to go back yet again. Usually we have lots of time to plan before he has to leave so we can make sure that I have nights and days covered while he is gone. Unfortunately the July trips were for meetings so he did not have the luxury of picking the dates. Hopefully when he gets home this Friday he will be here for a little while this time. The flight each way is over 20 hours. When he is only there for 3-4 days he is spending almost as much time in the air as he is on the ground. The travel is hard on him too. He is worried about us and trying to get home as quick as can. India is not quite 12 hours ahead as well. That makes calling to check in a little hard too.
As you may know from previous posts, we have been having a really hard time with our night nurses. The one we have had for years that does 2 nights a week is still with us, and luckily she picks up an extra night when she can, but the other 4-5 nights have not been consistently covered since May. We have had a few nurses make it through the initial meet and greet phase to work a few nights and just not work out. About 4 weeks ago we had a nurse that started that I had high hopes for. She was only doing 3 of the 5 nights, but she caught on to Casey’s suctioning pretty quick. Sadly her first 2 weeks she called out a lot and it was not a good sign. Her third and fourth went better where she did work her shifts, but she is looking for a different type of patient and found another job instead. So now we are back to the drawing board. Of course this has to start while Tim is out of the country.
Our days nurses have been great about picking up extra shifts so that I can get some sleep, but even with them picking up extra I am still totally drained. Going back and forth from days to nights with Casey takes a toll. I am so ready to have our nights filled consistently so I can get back to a normal schedule. I feel like our lives have been on hold since May. Being that I am up most nights I have to sleep during the day. The few days I don’t have to sleep I am trying to get an entire week’s worth of stuff done in those 1-2 days. I have to cancel a lot of Casey’s stuff too. If I have to sleep and Tim is working – or out of town- there is no way to get her to her appointments, play dates, etc.
Last week our main day nurse was on vacation. Tim was home, thank goodness, but Casey got really tired of hanging out with me by the end of the week. She invited her friends over on Friday and that seemed to make her pretty happy. A few came by and read her stories, played, and even stayed for pizza. I think if Casey had her way they would have stayed all weekend. Tim wanted to have some fun time with her before he had to head back so she got to swing on Saturday. It is so hot here now and her heat intolerance is getting worse as she gets older. We bought her a little battery powered fan and a Frogg Togg to use. We have already gotten a lot of use out of these. They seem to help keep her much cooler.
Our friends have been great helping out while Tim is away. They have been checking in on Casey and me, bring me coffee, food, movies, and offering to help keep me entertained and/or awake. We really appreciate all their help this week. I have 4 potential night nurses that our agency wants to send out. Hopefully they will work out and we can get some coverage and back to a normal schedule in the VERY near future. We are all pretty tired around here, but hopeful that things are about to change. Tim will be home on Friday. Casey and I are counting down the hours already.
We hope that everyone is doing well and that you all like the updated look on Casey’s site. We had not changed the look of this site since we launched it 9 years ago now. We figured it was due for a little revamp. This new look is a little softer and more girly- just like our princess.