Surviving the Nursing Home

A sunflower blooming in the middle of a dried-up field.

Hi! My name is Angelo Edwards and I’m a resident at a healthcare facility (nursing home) in Muncie, Indiana. Here is a little background information about myself:

 

I had a single car accident in October 2011. I’ve been in and out of nursing homes the last ten years. I have about a total of about five years living in the nursing home and the other five I was able to live at home with the assistance of caregivers and nurses coming to my home. The first time I came to the nursing home, I was a  resident for almost three years.

 

Even at that time I had to become my own advocate and make phone calls and connections trying to find a place that was wheelchair accessible so I could try to go home. At that time I was in really bad shape but  was receiving therapy to get myself stronger and as independent as much as possible. It did take a lot of hard work and a lot of phone calls but I was finally able to find a home that was wheelchair accessible and big enough to bring my family back together under one roof. 

 

I was so excited to be going home. At this time I was 38 years old. All the way up to the morning that I was to leave,  things still weren’t in order. None of the equipment I needed immediately at home had not been ordered by the caseworker of the nursing home. A phone call was made to every place dealing with equipment to deliver whatever they had. I ended up with a old but decent bed, a hand pump Hoyer lift, a bedside potty chair. This wasn’t good because I couldn’t support myself to use the bathroom unless the chair was placed over the toilet. We had to  use the Hoyer sling to hold me over the toilet. The bed did lift at the head and foot but not enough to sit up.

 

Fortunately, an electric wheelchair had been given to me so I could use the other money to be able to get a few other nicer things like a better Hoyer lift and things to help me shower In the end though, I had to resort to getting bed baths.

 

I had to return to the nursing home due to a lack of staffing in the home healthcare field. Indiana Disability Justice asked me how I feel about living in the nursing home. All that I can say is I’m surviving.  

 

I don’t know how many times I have had to call the Director of Nursing (DON) to go over the same BS concerning a lack of care I and others receive. I’m set to take a shower twice a week or as many times as I supposedly want,  but that doesn’t happen.  Out of the last eight scheduled showers,  I have had three.  This has really been tough on me because I have always been anal about my hygiene.

 

I have wounds from not being turn from side to side every few hours. I have to use a wound vac machine to help with the healing process of wounds,  but the machine isn’t properly cared for.  The wound vac is scheduled by doctors orders to be changed every Monday,  Wednesday  and Friday. As I am writing this,  It’s almost 11pm Tuesday night, and it hasn’t been changed yet. It hasn’t been changed since Saturday. This could cause my wounds to not to heal correctly or get them infected. I also have other wounds and sores that are not being treated properly. Fortunately,  I have the opportunity to go to an outside wound center every two weeks for intervention. By the time you read this,  I would have had to be placed with a colostomy bag because of certain things not being done properly or regularly.

 

During May of 2020,   I got COVID in the nursing home.  I was placed in the hospital for nine months.     While I was fighting for my life,  I heard my things at the nursing home had been gone through.  Sure enough,  when I returned I found some of my things were missing.  I met with the old director,  the new director,  and the case manager.  After more than a year later,  nothing has been replaced. My wife repeatedly says niceness doesn’t get you nowhere nowadays.

 I have called the state to address these issues. 

I have had friends contact the state.  I have had family contact the state.  All the results being the same:  nothing being done.

They say the root of the poor quality care is there are so few aides.  I appreciate the aides that do their jobs well.  I don’t know what we would do without them.  I’m so blessed to still be able to speak out about my treatment I can only pray for those who can’t

 

Update on the Author:

Angelo Edwards first shared his story with IDJ at the end of 2021. As of June 2022, Angelo reported that after two years, his wounds have almost healed. The staffing at the nursing home has been a bit more consistent. Angelo is actively seeking getting out of the nursing home in order to get back to living his life! He is coordinating with agencies, friends, and family to do this. He can’t wait, and hopefully he will be in his new place by September! Angelo also happily reports having his first grandchild. He thanks God for helping him survive the nursing home.

Coping with Anxiety and Depression

There are many ways to cope with anxiety and depression. There are many ways to manage them. Courtney Parker shares a story and her artwork.

Roxy- a golden retreiever, sitting in the middle of a living room, looking happy. Her fur is completely golden.

This is my dog Roxy. She is a golden retriever. She was nine years old when she passed away. She was my very best friend before I met Brian, my partner. She wasn’t a trained therapy dog, but she was a big support to me and helped me with my emotions. I have severe anxiety and depression so day to day living can be very stressful sometimes. I love and miss Roxy everyday.

A drawing of two birds. Onve is a red cardinal siting on a branch with green leaves. The other bird is a blue jay sitting on a leafless branch.

Courtney also deals with her anxiety by drawing. She draws everything from imaginary creatures to animals to portraits of loved ones to Biblical imagery. The above picture is of two birds sitting on two brances.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR AND ARTIST: Courtney Parker has spina bifina. She has a young son. Courtney deeply loves her family and God.

IDJ Questions:

How do you deal with anxiety and depression? Does your organization offer safe spaces and offer time where employees and clients can use the techniques that they need to maintain or increase well-being? Why or why not?

RAmys LoveMyPurses: An Unique Mom Overcoming the Hurdles of Disability Anxiety By Amy Yost

Amy Yost wearing one of her amazing purses. Amy has short blonde hair, wearing a green shirt. The large blue purse hangs across her body. It has colorful word bubbles with words like pow and zap. She is standing in front of a powers machine.

My name is Amy Yost. I’m 43 and have 2 children. I have struggled all my life with chronic pain, anxiety, mathematics anxiety, and big crowds anxiety. So I grew up learning to mind control my pain.

I haven’t been able to hold a regular job due to my chronic leg pain and anxiety. In 2000 my mom taught me how to sew by hand. I was never allowed to touch her sewing machine though ❤️. However when she passed away in 2005, I inherited all her crafting supplies.

In 2016, I bought my first sewing machine. I wanted to make a purse to fit my cellphone. I couldn’t find what I was looking for. So why not make one?

So I YouTubed the brand of my machine and watched a video on how to use all the features. Then I watched a video on how to make a purse. Well… I was not great at math at all, and the instructions to put it together were confusing to me. So I looked around my house for something square to trace around as a pattern. Ah ha.. cereal box!

So that’s how it began . I had all my mom’s supplies and she had a rubber stamp collection. One of the stamps fell out of a box with some fabric . That stamp is now use in all my purses.

The best journeys are not always in straight lines.

Ain’t that the truth. So when you look inside one of my RAmys LoveMyPurses, it’s stamped and signed by me .

So I ended up making that purse, then in 2016 I had my son. So I took a break on crafting. I started painting on canvas. That was different because of having to stand to paint and because it was messy. In 2019 I needed a new purse and got out my machine and made myself one and posted it on Facebook. I had lots of people wanting one so I made more purses.

These purses feature multiple colors, and each contains multiple pockets.

it’s a struggle muffin when you have Chronic leg pain, with all the sitting and pushing the peddle foot to run the machine. But I push through it because I want to make purses.

From 2019 to present I have gotten so many good compliments on my purses. They are organized with awesome pockets. I try to make a pocket to fit your cellphone and a place to hang your keys. I make them crossbody/shoulder. Some are big enough to fit a book, a small tablet and other items. My purses usually have 6 to 9 pockets.

I uses snaps and Velcro to make them unique. I don’t really make any two alike. However much fabric I have, I will eyeball the size and cut it out free hand as I go.

I don’t sew straight, but that’s part of the journey I’m on. My purses are cute and really a statement piece to your everyday. I use holiday fabrics or really any kind of cotton fabric to make them.

I also have done a few custom purses. I cut a lady’s dress up and made her a purse. I tie-dye muslin fabric.

I am currently getting help with Vocational rehabilitation, I also sell purses and Tie dye T shirts at the common market on 8th Street in Muncie, IN.

My boyfriend came up with my business name. RAmys is for my 2 children, who have R names, and the Amy is my name. The phrase “love my purses” comes from my daughter when she had a handful of purses I made and said, “love my purses, mommy. “ So we call them RAmy (Ray-mes) Love My Purses.

I found a sewing machine that sews itself. I just push a button and guide it. My legs still hurt and fall asleep. I haven’t set up anyplace like flea market because I have anxiety with money and covid. So that has slowed by business down. I usually sale my purses through word of mouth. I have used Facebook marketplace . I have shipped to Michigan, Tennessee, Arizona, and in Indiana.

If you would like to purchase one of these amazing purses, go to’RAmysLoveMyPurses on Instagram or find Amy Yost on Facebook.

Website: ramyslovemypurses.com (still under construction)
Email: Amy@ramyslovemypurses.com

Business card for RA LoveMyPurses

Expressing Through Tattoos

Hello my Name is Alejandro Nuñez (Alex)

 

I work at the Courtyard By Marriott in downtown Muncie, and I’m a Volunteer Firefighter

 

I want to share my tattoos with everyone and tell you what they mean to me.

The first tattoo is a firefighter tattoo. The tattoo is a fire shield with an American flag. It’s outlined with a thin red line.

 

The next tattoo is another firefighter tattoo. This tattoo is what I call my 9/11 tattoo because every year I go to a firefighter conference in Indy, and i take part in a 9/11 Memorial Stair Climb at Lucas Oil Stadium. I climb 110 stories/2,200 step, which is the same number of steps and stories that the firefighters had climbed on that day. The tattoo displays a firefighter praying on one knee with an axe and a helmet. The American flag is behind him. The number 343, which is on the helmet, is how many firefighters died in the trade center on 9/11.

My next tattoo is my cerebral palsy tattoo, which is a green ribbon with wings and the word hope underneath the ribbon. I have cerebral palsy.  I’m unable to use my right hand,  and i wear an AFO on my right leg. I decided to get the word hope because hopefully someday there will be a cure for cerebral palsy.

My next 3 tattoos are on my left arm:  

 

The first one is of a roman numeral, which represents my sister’s birthday- 09-07-92. This was my very first tattoo. My sister and I are close so we decided to get our birthdays tattooed on each other. She got my birthday (10-28-95) tattooed on her arm as well.

 The second one is a heart with headphones around it with a heartbeat rhythm in the middle, I got this one because I listen to music wherever i go.  It keeps me calm when I feel like I’m getting frustrated about things.

 

The third one is my semicolon tattoo. I got this one because i deal with depression and suicidal thoughts. I decided to get this one to remind myself that everything is going be okay. The text i got with it is “when we suffer we find the will to live.”

The next tattoo is a  diamond shape tattoo with is one half is in the day time and the other half is in the night time. I got this one because sometimes I’m up all night, and sometimes I’m up all day.   .

The next tattoo is my Johnny Cash tattoo. I got this one because I’m a Johnny cash fan. The tattoo is his face, and in the middle is him with his guitar walking down the road.

The next tatto is also musical. This one has the play, paused, stop and replay  Buttons like on an Ipod or Mp3 player. Play the moments. Paused the memories. Stop the pain. Replay the happiness.

 

The last tattoo is another music tattoo. The tattoo says “Words fail, Music speaks.”. I got this one because sometimes we listen to songs that just know how we feel.

 

That’s all of my tattoos. Thank you for letting me share with you the meaning of my tattoos.

This is a picture of Alex. He’s wearing a tan and yellow firefighter suit with black gloves. He has short dark hair and a confident expression on his face. Alex is standing next to a fire truck.