A Month Ago...
Jun 22 '09
The Bottom Line If you do not understand a situation let those that do take control.
Something happened that left me disgusted and angry.
I work with adults who have developmental disabilities. Beyond that, some of my consumers have seizures. One in particular has prolonged (beyond 5 minutes) grand mal seizures. There are no set triggers and we are often not able to predict when a seizure will strike. We try to give him/her, as well as the others, as normal a life as we can. That includes going on shopping trips.
While at a store this consumer had a grand mal seizure while checking out his/her items. The staff member lowered him/her to the floor, made sure he/she was away from potential hazards and stepped back. The manager of the store came unglued.
She yelled at the staff to "do something". When the staff member tried to explain that she had done what she was supposed to do and now could only observe him/her the manager told her she was terrible and hoped that the staff would never take care of any of her loved ones. The manager stated she was calling an ambulance. The staff informed her that there was a guardian order stating an ambulance wasn't to be called unless the consumer stopped breathing. The manager, so close to the staff's face she was throwing spit into it, yelled she didn't care about anything but "getting that thing out of the store".
The staff called me. I could hear the manager in the background yelling at the staff that "people like that should be locked up and not allowed in public". The staff tried to hand the phone to the manager so I could try to calm her down and send a fax copy of the no ambulance order. The manager refused to talk to me, she was on the phone with 911. When she came back to the staff member she was still screaming about "that type of people", how "horrible" the staff was and how she hoped that she "went to jail for this".
The staff member was still trying to get a fax number for me. I was hoping to at least get it there so the paramedics would not take the consumer. It didn't work. When the ambulance showed up I asked to speak with one of them. They refused. "We are here for him/her, not a phone call". The staff was trying to explain that there was a guardian order. When that didn't work and they started pumping medication in him/her she tried to tell them he/she was on a lot of medications. They ignored her, not caring about interactions. The manager was busy with the police trying to get the staff arrested. Which, fortunately, did not happen.
As soon as the staff told me, over the phone, that the paramedics had the consumer on the stretcher I told her to get out of there. I called the consumer's mother to inform her of what was going on. She immediately called the store. The manager spoke with her. She told the mother that she was a lousy mom and deserved to go to jail along with the staff member. She stated to the mother...to the mother...that her son/daughter should be locked away so that normal people wouldn't have to be upset by "scenes like that one". The manager then hung up on the mother.
Meanwhile I was trying to deal with the ambulance crew and its parent company. I was only told that the consumer was all ready loaded and on his/her way to the hospital, there would be no turning back.
The night ended when a very understanding hospital emergency room doctor and nurse did a quick check on the now confused and scared consumer then let me take him/her home.
The follow up by the mother and supervisor of our company was more than unsatisfactory. The person above the manager at the store stated she wasn't sure she would have done anything differently. But, she did say the mother, staff and consumer would get a handwritten apology from the store manager. It never came. Really though, if she is not sorry why bother with an apology?
A letter to the parent company of the store stated "they would look into it". Four weeks later the manager still has her job.
I understand that what people don't know can scare them. One woman at the store wanted to help by getting a spoon to put in the consumers mouth to hold his tongue down. It is the wrong thing to do, but at least she talked to the staff about helping. That is what should be done. If you see someone having a problem that has an obvious caretaker with him or her ask if you can help. If so do as requested. If not let the person who knows what to do take charge. But, never, ever, under any circumstances state that those people need to be locked up. After all...what defines a normal person?
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Epinions.com ID:
cmaw63
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 in Pets, Home and Garden, Books |
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Member: Julie
Location: Illinois, USA
Reviews written: 307
Trusted by: 73 members
About Me:
I'm a grandma! Hayden Elizabeth was born Nov. 15, 2009.
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