Abel and his hospital stay for test

Abel(name changed) was about 55 at the time. Just a little history on him, before I start. According to his information, he was born and appeared to be normal and then something happened when he was 5 years old and he forgot everything and had to relearn everything. Mentally he is around 3, physically he is 58 today. He use to be an aid boy, way back when the individuals were allowed to do things like that. He is a very helpful, loving and lovable individual. He is considered non-verbal, but when you get use to him, you can understand a few words, he has a vocabulary of about 10-12 words. Anyway, he was going to the hospital to have test done, basically because I had been complaining and fighting for him, because he was getting awful stomach cramps anytime he ate. Where I work, the individuals do get good care, but sometimes you have to fight for them to get the state to actually run test on them, you know, we , as RSA’s(direct care staff) are with them day in and day our, we know when something is wrong. They told me he was not allowed anything to eat, after a certain time, because of the test. I did volunteer to be his one-to-one(one-to-ones mean you have 1 staff responsible for one individual), even worked a double so that I could be the one with him at the hospital. I took my jacket, I did not need it, but I knew that he liked to help, so I could use that as a way to make him more comfortable, by asking him to help and hold my coat, when I did this, he lit up, because it made him feel useful. Anyway, they put him in a room with another individual, and when they brought a tray for the other individual, they ask what he was allowed to eat, I said basically anything, but my employer told me he was not allowed to eat because of the test, she went and looked and said, he is allowed to eat up till midnight, because he is not having test till the next day. So she brought him a tray of food, here it is around 6:00 pm and he had not had anything to eat since breakfast, he started wolfing his food down, so I took it away from him and just fed him, so he would not get choked. I had started to work at 6:45 AM and I was with him at the hospital till midnight, then someone relieved me, then I went back up to be with him at 6:45 the next morning. You know, hospitals can be scary for you or me, so can you imagine what they look like to a mentally challenged individual? So, anyway, he starts out with pajama’s, but the first time he goes to the bathroom, then he strips and then he sleeps in his birthday suit(nude). They came in and said he needed to put a hospital gown on, so he could go for his test, well, it took about 45 minutes before I got it on him, he is very bull-headed, especially when he is scared and out of his element. Finally, I thought to myself, in his younger days, he was pretty wild and they had used straight jackets on him, to him the gown probably looks like a straight jacket, so I said, Abel, look here and I put it on myself and said see, it is a nice gown, will you put it on for me now and he looked at me and smiled and then he held out his hands and let me put it on him. Now if I had not been there, the hospital staff would have gotten mad at him and forcefully put it on him, but since I knew him, I could get him to wear it. He was having 2 test done, they took us down about 30 minutes before the test and I had him in a wheelchair, so while we were waiting, I was walking he around the big room and every time we went by a monitor, I said look, Abel, you are on TV. I kept him calm and relaxed. Then when they were ready for the test, they said they wanted me to go back into the secure area, because they wanted me to be there with him, during the test. They took him back, but I had to put on the pull-over one size fits all, that really doesn’t, garb, as he was going through the door, he had a look of fear and you could read his facial expression and it said, why are you staying there, you are suppose to be with me. As soon as I got the garb on, they took me back there and he looked up and smiled and held out his hands, because he wanted to give me a hug, because I was with him, so I leaned over so he could give me a hug, and he did and all the people, quite a few, said awwww, how sweet. There was probably about 10 to 12 people standing around. They said how is he with shots, I said he does fine with them, so when they were ready, I stood behind him and put my arms down over his shoulders and crossed them, this way, it kind of holds his head, so that he can not bite, when they are scared, they will sometimes bite, but only when scared. This also has another purpose, I can rub his belly and talk to him close to him and keep him somewhat relaxed. So they give him his shot and he did great and the person said, hmmmm, we had all of the people here for nothing. Anyway we went back to have an ultrasound done of his heart, they said he was kind of in a twilight state, so I ask them if he could hear, they said probably, but wasn’t sure, so I said I would talk to him quietly during the procedure, because I would rather talk to him and him not hear a thing, than not talk to him and he hear everything going on. I was constantly rubbing his head, forehead and arms, to let him know I was still there. They took him back to his room and came and got him for his second procedure later on. Now this is confusing to me and still is to this day, they had me wear this special garb for an ultrasound of his heart, but when they did the stomach scope, I didn’t have to wear the special garb. Because of the HIPPA regulations, they told me, since I was in a secure area again, to look straight ahead because of the privacy issues. They also had me go with him to for the stomach scope, they had me stand in the corner till they got set up, then had me come over by him and I talked to him and rubbed his arms and legs, so that he would know I was standing there right beside him. It was interesting watching as he did the stomach scope, but it was disgusting too, , if you know what I mean. so they told me to go to the waiting room and they would come get me when he was about ready to come too, so I did, then 2 minutes later they came and got me, they said their was a lapse in communication, they were suppose to keep me with him, to be with him, so that when he come too, he would see a famaliar face. He had been quite challenging in the past and they remember him, so they change the rules somewhat to keep his regular staff with him. Anyway, while I was standing there, rubbing his belly and talking to him, the recovery nurse, said I had an accent similar to her husbands, she ask where I was from, and I told her the state of Indiana, She said her husband was too, so I ask her what his last name was and she told me, to shorten this some, come to find out, he is the same age as me, and we had actually went to school together when we were in grade school and my aunt had actually worked for his dad in a five and dime store. I told her that my aunt worked for his dad and she said Aunt Shirley and I said yes, my aunt died in 1987 so I thought it was amazing that his wife would know my aunt too. He said her husband worked there too, and if I wanted she would call him and see if he had some free time to come down, so we could talk for a little bit. She did call him and he did make some time to come down and talk and we had a nice visit. I thought it was amazing, because I only went to that school for the first 4 years and then we moved, not to mention it was 400 miles away and after all this time and distance, that I would actually meet someone I had went to grade school with. I figured I would be lucky if I seen anyone I knew, much less an old school friend. Abel started coming too, about the time we got done talking, needless to say they did not find anything wrong with him, so not sure what was causing his stomach cramps.