New Nurse

This week is going to be nuts. Harlie starts summer school, Cooper starts summer preschool camp, Murphy still has swim team practice everyday, and we have a new nurse starting this week.  So, here's the schedule:

Harlie's summer school is Monday through Thursdays, 8-12.
Cooper's camp is Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursdays, 9-12.
Murphy's practice is Monday through Friday, 8:30-9:15, except on Tuesdays (9:15-10).

Terri is working today, so today isn't a big deal.  It's tomorrow that kinda stinks.

We have a new nurse starting this week. We met last week and she seems really nice.  I have no clue about her nursing abilities.  I am probably not a very good interviewer when it comes to nurses.  It's just so strange to have to go through the whole thing that I just want it to be over.  She came last week in the morning.  It was a busy morning (didn't have a nurse that day) so I had to get all the kids up to take them to swim practice with Murphy.  So we chatted while I moved around doing things and then I took her upstairs so I could start getting Harlie up and dressed.  Sadly, I didn't even think about what Harlie would think when she woke up and saw a stranger standing in her bedroom.  More sadly (or gladly?), she didn't even skip a beat.  I told her to say hi and she did.  Then went to the potty like it was no big deal.

I really can't complain about the number of nurses we've had.  I know a lot of moms of kids with trachs go through way more than I have.  In Harlie's five and a half years, we've had a total of five different nurses.  E will make number six.  Even though I know I'm lucky, it's still hard to introduce another person to my family. I'd give anything to be able to know what Harlie's thinking and how she feels about it.  And let her be a part of the decision.  Although to be honest, there's not much of a decision to make.  I've been asking the nursing agency for a nurse for months, and E is the first one I've met.

Luckily, we are keeping Terri one day a week.  She will work Fridays.  And I am going to talk to her today about staying on for some evenings/weekends as needed.  The only reason why we're getting this nurse is because Terri's school schedule is starting to conflict with Harlie's.

As of right now, E will start tomorrow.  The problem is that I can't just drop her and Harlie off at school and leave.  She needs to be trained.  I need to know that she knows what works/doesn't work for Harlie, how to feed her, how to communicate with her, etc.

But, as you can see from the schedule above, if I go to school with E and Harlie and stay, I can't take Cooper to preschool or Murphy to swim practice.  And I could ask for help with that, but it's Cooper first day and I want to be the one to take him.  I don't know his teacher, or where his class is.  I have paperwork to turn in and, well, I just want to be the one to take him, you know?

So, after much thought I think I came up with a solution.  I'm going to try to have E come in this afternoon for a little orientation at home.  That way I can get a lot of the care stuff (suctioning, feeding, etc.) covered.  Then, I am going to pay Terri to have her go to school with E and make sure she's okay there.  Medicaid won't pay to have one nurse orient another, so that's why I would have to pay her myself.  That allows me the peace of mind to go and run the boys around and then maybe, just maybe, have an hour all alone before I pick Cooper and Harlie up.  Which, somehow I will have to do at the exact same time.  I'm sure I can work something out with one of the schools.  Well, Harlie will have a nurse, so they can just wait for me I suppose.  But it would be a lot more convenient (logistically) if I could work something out with Cooper's school so I could pick him up last.

Seven more days of swim team and then the season is over.  That will help my schedule a lot.  Because then I can hopefully work out a way to go back to running more regularly.  The two things that help me relieve stress - running and blogging - and I've barely had time to do either.  Ugh.

Okay, must run to start this crazy day.  Wish us luck with the new nurse!

Thanks!
~Christy