Friday, September 23, 2011

Mental Health Cleanliness

When you're looking for a free place to sleep and bathe in a hospital, you're kind of thankful for what you get.  I think that in my head when I offer minimal accommodations to families at my work all the time.  I've tried to tuck that in the back of my head this week.

Yesterday, I took a cold sink bath because the shower wasn't available.  At least this room has its own toilet.  Anywho, there was no hot water, so I chose a ponytail over trying to wash my hair in a tiny sink with really cold water.  This morning, I waited for almost an hour for this shower I was told to use.  Finally, I stopped a man and asked about it.  Turns out, that one is out of order.

He walked around looking for a housekeeping or maintenance supervisor to get me a shower, damn it!  I ended up in the old psych unit.  OMG.  The water only stayed on for about 30 seconds at a time.  I guess that was a safety mechanism so a patient can't drown themselves.  After about 3 rounds of that, during which each time it was cold as it came back on, I looked for a better way.   I finally figured out to hold the button in instead of letting it run out and turning it back on.  The shower head wasn't adjustable and it hit me full on in the face.  I could have easily drowned myself if I'd so chosen.  The problem was, I had one hand to soap/wash with and I was blinded by water.  I was so happy to have clean hair, I tried really hard to only think thankful thoughts. 

When I got to Justin's room, the one nurse asked if I found the shower.  The other said, "Look at her fluffy hair!  You know she did!"  I guess that means I should have used the cold water sink anyway yesterday.

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