By Sandra Goldberg, RN, Senior Care Manager, Fort Lauderdale

The day seemed to go rather routinely. All my clients were where they were supposed to be and everyone seemed stable. On my way home, I decided to stop at a client’s house to see the aide, who had just returned from vacation. I wanted to be sure that she was on track with the client’s needs.

When I arrived, Madge, the aide, didn’t look well. She said that her stomach was upset, but she didn’t want to go home.

Within a few minutes of leaving, I received a call that Madge had terrible stomach pain. I turned around and went back to the client’s home, where Madge was doubled over. I immediately called 911 for help and the EMS took Madge to the hospital. I assured Madge that I would stay with the client until a replacement aide arrived. About 4 hours later, the replacement aide arrived.

After orienting her to the client, I left for the hospital to check on Madge. Madge was on an IV and hooked up to monitors. She was still in pain and vomiting. Even so, the doctor wanted to send her home because her pain level was down to 6 from 10 at admission.

Suddenly, I had a new "client" and immediately went into my advocacy mode to press for a 23-hour admit so Madge could be observed.

After hearing my concerns, the doctor agreed to keep her. I was then able to follow up with the client, who was relieved that her aide was being cared for and would be able to return to her in a few days.

I felt great to be able to advocate for the well-being of our client and our aide. It was nearly 10:00 P.M. when I finally was able to leave the hospital. I felt a deep reward and satisfaction on how things went. But, my day wasn’t over by a long shot. I still needed to go home and work at my computer for all the other clients I saw that day.

Sometimes, we have "unexpected clients" and the day never ends!