I work as a caregiver for an agency in my city. I go to old peoples' homes and I'll cook for them, take them to appts, whatever they need.
Well, I just got assigned a new client. I went over Sunday to get a key to her house (she's got a hoyer lift to get out of bed, so she can't get to the door in the morning), she seems like a nice lady, she shows me around, etc. I'm supposed to be there every morning to get her out of bed, and then in the afternoons again so she can take a nap, etc.
I show up Monday morning, bright and early with a smile on my face, ready for this new adventure. I learn the hoyer lift, do everything that needs to be done, we end up chatting and I learn that she has no family or close friends in Arizona. Everyone lives in Minnesota.
Well, I go back that afternoon, and she's not there. Her electric wheelchair is there, she's not in bed, front door's unlocked, something's majorly wrong. I track her down to an ER in a hospital across town. She ends up having 2 broken legs plus more fractures. I, being the person that I am, end up spending about 5 hours total in the hospital with her because she doesn't have anyone else to help her. I took care of her dog, her house, etc. Looks like she's gonna be in the hospital for about a week.
My boyfriend is concerned that I'm going to overextend myself, stretch myself too far between her and my other clients, plus my massage clients, etc, especially because I'm not sure if I'm going to get paid for all my hours with her until she comes back home.
What's your advice? How involved is too involved? I don't want to leave her alone in the hospital, and it's obvious that she appreciates all my efforts. But I don't want to cross the line between caring for her as my job and caring for her as my grandma... ya know??
