Introduce yourself to the rest of the community
Posted on: Sun, Jul 20 2008 2:29 PM
Posted by: Becky Posts: 1,555
Hey Tripilot! Welcome to Disaboom. You concern for your transportees is obvious and very touching. While I have never had the occasion to use transport for either a friend or relative, I hope if they one day need it, you (or someone just like you)are at the wheel. My grandmother was transported to her appointments by one of her family members. It's tragic that our elderly are cared for in the ways that they are. Thanks for sharing your story with us.
Becky
Posted on: Sun, Jul 20 2008 5:13 PM
Posted by: pambe2 Posts: 0
Hey Jon, You are the unsung HERO in our midst! Thanks to you and all those like you who shuttle us to and from appointments with a smile and a friendly word. Sometimes in the heat and our own discomfort we forget how to be nice. You see our frustration, our disapointment, our embarassment and dismay. All the while you are stead-fast and kind. For all of those disabled and forlorned people who forget to say thank you, I say, Thank you Jon for being there for us! You Rock!!!
pambe
Posted on: Sun, Jul 20 2008 6:11 PM
Posted by: rainey826 Posts: 3,961
JON, IF YOU ARE AS KIND AND PLEASANT WITH YOUR CLIENTS AS YOU WERE TO ME IN THE CHAT ROOM .....THEY ARE VERY FORTUNATE............ WAS A PRIVILAGE GETTING TO KNOW YOU THIS MORNING ......... RAINEY XO
Posted on: Sun, Jul 20 2008 6:55 PM
Posted by: FriPilot Posts: 18
Thanks, Pambe, but I'm not a hero. I'm just a guy doing his job.
I will say, however, that having worked for 25 in service driven industries has certainly helped me. Also, being older and having lost parents, both with the complications of being old and coupled with dementia in the past 5 years, has helped too. I guess you might say that I had a bit of an awakening. I fell into the transporter job entirely by accident (or DID I?).
I had just spent 20 years working for the Dept. Of The Army in food and beverage. After that long, for several reasons, it was time for me to leave. I had driven semi trucks before and thought that I might do that again. I went to CDL school and got my license. I found myself out on the road, but quickly learned that my night vision isn't what it used to be. The eye strain I endured was debilitating. One day, the truck I was on came near my home. I took that chance to leave the truck for the sake of safety. That put me in the job market again.
I believe that some jobs we find, other jobs find us. This job found me. And it fits! I'm very happy to be one of the people who bring a smile to the faces of those who are most often, the most neglected of our society.
FriPilot
Posted on: Sun, Jul 20 2008 6:58 PM
You haven't heard the last of me, Missy! *evil grin*
Thanks Rainey I'll be looking for you.
Here's hoping that your day's social event went OK. Remember, if you can't duck, bob and weave!
Posted on: Sun, Jul 20 2008 8:08 PM
I MADE IT OUT ALIVE ! HE HE WAS NICE TO GET OUT AND MY FAMILY WAS LOVELY ~~~~~~~~~~ I AM SO SORE AND TOMORROW WILL BE EVEN WORSE ~ GRRRRRRRR I NEED A VAN ! RAINEY XO
Posted on: Mon, Jul 21 2008 9:18 AM
Posted by: bonniethesurvivor Posts: 1,138
You are, indeed, one of the unsung heroes of the disability community. Many of us are cranky about any transportation because it means additonal pain, and the situations you describe are very scary indeed. You have my sincere thanks for the job you and you co-workers do, and the professional attitude you have expressed, as well as the concerns.
I worry that as we fill up the nursing homes with the baby boom generation, this situation will only get worse, and that cost cuts will continue. We need to find a way, now, to work with these issues, and move them up in our priorities of advocacy as we work in the political sphere to expand the realm of our current and future care.
Thank you for your job, daily well done, and for sharing this with the community. Warmest regards, bonnie
Posted on: Tue, Jul 22 2008 9:43 AM
Wow, I never imagined that my post would generate so much interest and so many responses.
Thank you to all who have been so supportive.
You Know Bonnie, we're living longer than was expected years ago. My parents were
born in the 19teens and both lived well into their 80's. I see folks of that age almost
every day. However, they weren't expected to live to be that old. I guess we can
thank the technicological and medical advances of the post WW2 era for extending
lifespan at an exponential rate.
We baby boomers should easily attain the same life spans, but as you know, there are
zillions of us about to leave the job market and, unfortunately, many of us will end up
shackled to the medical system. You're right. We need to rethink our priorities and
our social views of the elderly.
The money to change and improve things is really the easy part. All we have to do
is to be very active and very vocal. We need to let the guys we hire (politicians) know
that this is needed now. We need to keep on 'em and not let them misread our
intentions. If they don't respond, fire them!
Changing the views that society has of the elderly is an
entirely differen animal. I don't pretend to have all the answers here, but it seems
to me that we need to "dance with the one's who brung us". We can't forget the
contributions of those who are currently, or who will soon be, in nursing homes. Those
folks changed the world..literally. They provided us with the civilization we have now.
They fought wars. Their brilliance provided us with all the technicolgical gadgets and
niceties that we have today. They designed and built cities. They saccrificed so the
following generations could live a better life.
Then they end up sick, alone, lonely, sad and un-needed in "care" facillites. Their
accomplisments go un-remembered. To me, this is about the saddest thing I see on
my job. We get to know our clients pretty well. Some days, we interact with them
more in the 20 or so minutes that we have them in our care, than anyone else has
interacted with them all day. Or all week. We learn what they used to do, or what
they consider their major contributions. We also learn that their family members
haven't been to visit them for a very long time. Many sit there, vacantly staring
into space, probably wishing that there was someone to share memories with. Many
families seem to just park these folks and wait for the inevitable.
If there was one change I could make, it would be that nobody was lonely. Being
sick can't be helped, but being lonely is a crime.
And that's my rant for the morning.
Jon
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