(Minghui.org) In 2004 I found a job caring for an incapacitated woman in her 70s. The wage was 400 yuan per month. The woman’s eldest daughter expressed her appreciation to me for agreeing to take care of her mother. She admitted that it was not an easy job, and three home health aides had already been dismissed before me. She did not give any specific reasons for their dismissal. She briefed me with some information about her mother, Ms. Li, and then left the home.
I Endeavored to Be a Kind-hearted Caretaker
Ms. Li was a little wary and defensive when I first started caring for her. After finishing the housework, I took the initiative to talk to her, for fear that she might be too bored and lonely. But she did not respond, as if she didn’t hear me.
I always fed the woman and cleaned her up after each meal before I ate. The food was often cold after I took care of her, but I did not bother to heat it up. Ms. Li sometimes complained of being hungry, but she only took a few bites when the food was prepared. Not wanting to waste the food, I would just finish her leftovers.
As the woman’s daughter said, it was not an easy job. I had to get up several times in the middle of the night to check her diaper and change it if needed. I also turned her over in bed to prevent bedsores. I usually did not get much time to sleep. During the day, I had to go grocery shopping and do things such as laundry, housecleaning, cooking, and feeding my client.
It was getting cold in mid-October, and a heat supply was not available. To prevent the woman from catching a cold, I warmed her body and legs with hot water bottles. The hot water had to be replaced every two or three hours.
Ms. Li had problems with control of her bowels and urine. She often wet her pants and the bedsheets. Sometimes right after I changed her diaper and when I was ready to eat my lunch, she urinated again. Many times, she was embarrassed to tell me about the accidents, but I could smell a pungent odor when the quilt was lifted. Sometimes, urine and feces stained her legs, buttocks, pants, and the sheets. After I finished cleaning her up and changing the sheets, I was sweating profusely and my clothes were wet. The work was tiring and I sometimes did not have an appetite, even for the most delicious food. I just wanted to lie down and rest for a while.
Ms. Li also suffered from dehydration, which led to constipation and evacuation was difficult and infrequent. As soon as I helped her get back into bed from the bedside commode, she said that she had to go again. I went back and forth in this way several times, but she was still unable to move her bowels. After I finally got her settled in the bed, I was very tired. She was accustomed to having an aide with her constantly to assist with whatever she needed. It was always a true test of character for me!
After assisting this client at home for quite a long while, the woman changed her attitude towards me drastically. On one occasion, when I ate my lunch by her bedside after feeding her and putting her in bed, she said that she had to defecate. I then continued eating while she was on the commode.“Don’t you find that the room is dirty and smelly right now?” she asked me. I said, “I am a Falun Dafa practitioner. I am not afraid of getting dirty. Everyone has to use the toilet. I am a mother and my children have gone through this when they were little, so I am used to it.”
Ms. Li was moved by my words and deeds. A few days later, she tried very hard to move her bowels while on the commode, but no feces came out and she felt uncomfortable. I gave her an antiseptic lotion to try, but it did not help with the discomfort upon straining. To help her, I put on gloves and with a digital disimpaction procedure removed the stool from her rectum. From then on, she treated me as a family member and chatted with me about everything.
From our conversations, I learned that her third daughter was an office worker, and her husband was a law enforcement officer at the market management office. Her youngest daughter was the captain of the city armed forces and her husband was a university professor. The youngest daughter had fired the last aide after seeing the elderly woman sitting on the commode alone in a cold room without any help or supervision.
The Last Home Health Assistant to Be “Let Go”
Ms. Li told me that she had been bedridden for five or six years. She sought treatment at a large hospital, but her condition did not improve. I comforted her and encouraged her to practice Falun Dafa. I told her about the health improvement my parents and I experienced after we took up Falun Dafa. Inspired by our stories, she was eager to give it a try.
I taught the woman the Falun Dafa exercises step by step whenever I had free time. I did the exercises in her room, as she lay in bed watching me. I encouraged her to do the exercises along with me while lying down. I also read the Falun Dafa book, Zhuan Falun, to her.
After a while, Ms. Li could sit up and do the hand movement of the standing exercises in bed. Gradually, she was able to stand and lean on the bed to do the exercises. Not long after, she was able to walk on crutches and then walk without any support. Finally, she could go up and down the stairs. Seeing these changes, her youngest daughter was in tears and very excited about her mother’s amazing progress.
In the end, I became the last home health assistant to be “let go” by this family. The woman experienced a rebirth and no longer requires any assistance in caring for herself.
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Category: Improving Oneself
