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[quote=Anonymous]Tonight I witnessed a situation that made me sick to my stomach. My grandmother is in a long term care home and has been there for 10+ years. Until a year or so ago she was fairly independent and able to do her own care. Over the last years she has lost much of that independence and in the last few months she has been unable to transfer herself and required mechanical assistance (Staff using a lift). My grandmother is a staunch stoic woman who does not complain. She has been telling me the lift is very uncomfortable and asked me to come in every night and put her to bed myself. Unfortunately that isn't possible and I am only there typically one evening a week (I live 2 hours form her). There is also one staff worker who she states very clearly she doesn't like however she hasn't stated why.  My grandmother can be quite opinionated so I figured they had clashed.

Tonight I saw this worker use the lift completely inappropriately in a way that put my grandmother in an extremely painful position, forcing her joints into unnatural and painful positions and having her entire body weight hanging from her arms. She already has severe osteoarthrities and she can't even move her arms into the position they were forced into. As soon as the lift put her entire body weight onto her arms she began to cry out in pain, and saying ow, stop, its hurting, and she sounded like a wounded animal - it was like she was being tortured. I immediately asked her to get her out as it was obviously extremely painful and the worker basically just looked and me and told me no one likes the lift and that she leaves her hanging like this while she provides care (probably 5+ minutes). I became very agitated and so to appease me, she lowered her back down.

I can't believe that has been happening every night. I feel like throwing up. That my frail little old grandmother has been hanging in agony for 5+ minutes a night and perhaps at other times when she is transferred with someone causing that pain and being totally indifferent to her cries of pain.

A month or so ago another resident at the LTC came to me and told me that she thought my grandmother was being abused and that she often hears her crying out in pain and saying please stop and you are hurting me. I am assuming it is whenever she was being hung like this. I tried to follow up on it then but my grandmother wouldn't say anything and I couldn't get details and it was brushed aside. I did file an official complain but have yet to even hear back.

Anyways, I guess this is a more off my chest post as I am somewhat wracked with guilt and sick that this has been happening to her. She is so vulnerable. [/quote]

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