31. Callie
Chapter 31
Callie
June/July 2023
I pick up my phone, pull up my mom’s contact, and send her a quick message.
Me : Hey mom! I was thinking maybe I could come see y’all this weekend. Do y’all have anything going on?
It’d be really nice to get out to see my parents. It’s been a while, and I need a weekend away. With Mason back in New York and the chaos going on in our office, I am ready to relax and put everything on the back burner. I don’t expect an immediate response since my mom doesn’t ever get back to anyone right away, so I place my phone down on my desk and get back to work. Checking my calendar, I see I’ve got two patients this morning, lunch with Jo Ellen, and then two more patients after lunch. Doesn’t sound too bad but check in with me later to see how it actually went.
I have been so reliant on my planner the last few days since our company decided to switch the program that we use both in the office and on our work tablets, where all our documentation takes place. It’s been a headache trying to relearn how to do my job. I really hope it’s all worth it in the end because the program that we had been using was just fine. If it ain’t broke… don’t fix it y’all…
Noticing the time, I gather my things and get ready to head out to my first patient’s house. I throw my phone, work tablet, planner, and some snacks into my bag and head out to my car. My first two patients this morning are ones we just added to our care, so I need to put their addresses in my GPS until I am familiar with the drive out there. Looks like the first one is about a 20-minute drive. After turning the radio on I put my car in reverse and got my day started.
I’m driving down a two-lane road that runs between woods on both sides. Now and then it’ll curve to the left then back to the right before straightening back out. I’m driving along when I hear Siri tell me “In a quarter mile, turn right” so I cancel my cruise and start slowing down.
Once I’ve made the turn Siri tells me “In 800 feet your destination is on our left” and I’m met with a beautiful house that sits in a circular opening back in the trees. It’s a ranch-style house with light blue siding and black shutters. The sidewalk is lined with small box trees and different colorful flowers. It looks like a picture straight from a magazine.
Before I head in to visit with my second patient, I check my phone and see I’ve got a few missed texts.
Mason : Good morning. I won’t be able to FaceTime at lunch today because I’ve got a meeting with my partner. I’ll call you after I get home.
Mom : That’d be great! Dad and I won’t be doing anything this weekend, we need a little time at home.
Jo Ellen : I’m not sure if I’ll be able to make it to lunch. Something came up with my first patient this morning. I will let you know closer to lunch what the plan is. I’m sorry!
I quickly send them all a reply, put my phone back in my bag, and walk up to the front door.
I bring my hand up, knocking softly. I’m greeted by Mr. Andrews inviting me in. I follow him through the living room into the back bedroom they’ve got set up for his wife. There’s a hospital bed on one side, a small couch and recliner on the other side where they’ve got a television hanging on the wall. Mrs. Andrews is lying in the bed asleep. I wasn’t a part of her intake but didn’t expect to hear what was going on with her.
I love my job but more days than not are emotional. I hate to see my patients decline but I know that it’s a huge part of my job. Walking in to meet a new patient and then already noticing that they’re declining is not at all what I expected.
Upon admittance, she was eating and drinking fine, was awake most of the day, and interacting with her family. This was four days ago. Once I introduce myself to everyone her daughter asks me to talk to her privately and I already know something bad was going to be shared with me.
The woman who, four days ago, was lively and interactive is now barely eating and sleeping most of her day away. The decline in just four days tells me that she won’t be with us much longer. She slept the whole time I was there, but I met with both of her children and her husband. They seem to understand what’s happening and I shared with them what to expect in the coming days and weeks. I let them know that if there are any more changes to call the office and her nurse will come out if needed even if it’s before her next scheduled visit.
These meetings with patients and their families are hard, but I know how beneficial they are. Pushing through my emotions I make sure that I am fully available to these families during this time, as well as the patient. Everyone in this situation is grieving and being able to provide care for them is a huge part of why I do what I do.
After finishing up my visits and documenting my time with them, I pull my phone out.
Jo Ellen : I will be about 15 minutes late, but we can still make it happen! I’ll see you soon!
Mom : Were you looking to do anything fun this weekend? The weather will be nice.
I mark my mom’s text as unread. I’ll reply once I get to the restaurant. As much as I’d like to have a fun day date with my mom. I think I’d rather just stay at their place, catch up, play games, and relax. So, I’ll think about it and reply when I get there. I type in the address on my GPS and pull out of the driveway.
After Mason left, Jo Ellen and I got much closer and have been trying to get lunch at least once a week. It doesn't always happen, but it’s been nice having someone to talk to outside of work. We’ve got one rule when it comes to our lunches - we don’t talk about work. Which lately, has been a nice break.
I pull into the parking lot and walk inside. Jo Ellen isn’t here yet, so I grab a table and pull out my phone to shoot her a message.
First, I let Jo Ellen know that I’ve gotten us a table and that she’ll see me as soon as she walks in, to the left of the door. Then, remembering my mom’s text from earlier, I text her back.
Me : I was actually thinking of a nice weekend of relaxation. Work has been crazy, and my body just needs some R&R, if that’s ok!
I spend my night catching up on a Netflix show and FaceTime with Mason. We haven’t had the chance to talk much because we’ve both been so busy with work. Most of our conversations happen either in the morning while we’re getting ready for work or during/after dinner time. I can’t wait until I get to see him next month.
Spending time with my parents was exactly what I needed. I got there Friday night and stayed through Sunday evening. They’re only an hour and a half away, assuming traffic cooperates, so I was able to stay a little longer on Sunday to grab some lunch and go shopping with my mom. We checked out a new strip mall they’ve added since I moved to Magnolia Falls. I bought myself some cute tops for New York and the softest pajama set I’ve ever laid my eyes on.
I came back home relaxed, refreshed, and ready to tackle a new week at work.
My computer has officially been switched over to the new program and it’s not as much of a pain in the ass as I thought it would be, but I still plan to use my paper planner until I make sure I’ve got it all down. I’d hate to miss something important… like today's IDG meeting that I almost forgot about.
Crap.
I quickly gather all my notes and patient files that I’ll need and make my way to the conference room. Thankfully I’m not the last person here. I grab an empty seat and begin separating all my things into piles. Once the physician walks in, the meeting begins.
We’ve had two patients pass in the last week and three more that are declining or transitioning. One patient has graduated hospice care - this is what we call it when you no longer qualify for our care. We’ve had a few patients graduate and their symptoms continue to improve. We’ve also had patients who graduate and then mere weeks later are back on our services. Three patients have been added to our services, two of whom I’ve already met and they’re amazing. I love meeting patients and hearing all about their life stories, experiences, and travels.
I will be meeting the third new patient tomorrow afternoon. He lives in a nursing home in the memory care unit. Jo Ellen was a part of his intake and says he’s hilarious and loves telling jokes. I can’t wait to meet him and hear his stories.
Once the meeting wraps up, I head back to my office to make note of any changes to my schedule for the next two weeks. I pull out my planner and remember that I’ve also got to get together a schedule for Amy who will be visiting with my patients for the two days that I’m gone. I plan to grab her a small gift to thank her for helping me out. Jo Ellen is great at giving gifts, so I’ll see if she has an idea of something I can pick up for Amy.
While I’m in the office today my goal is to finish up the documentation for the patients I haven’t finished yet. I don’t want Amy to have any extra work on her already full plate while I’m gone. We don’t have any insurance inquiries open right now and, hopefully, we won’t get any while I’m gone so she won’t have to deal with that. Tonight, I will put together the visit schedule for while I am gone. That’ll give me time to finalize any other meetings as well.
The rest of the week flies by because of how much work we’ve got going on right now. Plus, packing for New York and gift shopping. Jo Ellen gave me a few options for Amy and I decided to go with a bottle of wine and a wine tumbler in purple, her favorite color. I don’t think you can go wrong with wine when you’re gifting a wine lover.
It’s finally my last week of work before I head up to New York for a long weekend. My last day is Friday and I won’t be coming back into the office until Tuesday. I am so ready, so excited... I need this.
I’ve got Amy’s paperwork, any information she may need about the patients, and her gift ready to give to her today. She’s stopping in the office to pick up supplies for a couple of her patients, so I told her I’d have it ready for her and put it on her desk.
I’m giving it to her early so that she’ll have enough time to look everything over and ask me any questions she may have. She’s a hospice nurse, so she knows the basic stuff, but our nurses typically only have five to eight patients each and I see all of them, so she doesn’t know all of them like I do.
I’ve got some downtime before I need to leave and visit with my first patient of the day so I’m sitting here pen in hand tapping the top of my desk. I need to make a list of things I’ll need this weekend so that I don’t forget anything. Mason told me to pack some warmer clothes because while it’s hot during the day some nights get a little chilly and we planned to go on a night walk to a small dessert bar that’s up the road from his place. So, I add that to my list as well as my phone charger, brush, ChapStick, and of course clothes. I also make a note to pack one or two nicer outfits so that I’ll have something to wear if we go to a nicer restaurant.
My phone starts ringing and pulls me out of my list-making trance.
“Hey Mel, what’s up?” I’m so thankful for the caller ID that was placed on our office phones. It gives me a little peek into who I’m about to deal with.
“There’s a call coming in and they’re asking to speak to their nurse but she’s not in right now and I don’t think any nurses are currently in the building. what do I do?” She asks nervously.
“Did they say what they needed?”
“No, just to speak with a nurse.”
“Forward it to me and I will see if I can help them. If not, I’ll make a call to their nurse for them to call them as soon as possible.”
“Okay, thank you.”
“No worries, Mel. You’re doing great!”
She hangs up the phone and not long after mine is ringing.
“Hello, this is Callie Callahan, Mel told me that you’d like to speak to a nurse?” I ask hoping that it’s nothing serious.
“Hi, Callie. It’s Stephanie, Mrs. Clark’s daughter. She fell while we were over here visiting, and we got her picked up and put back into her recliner but she’s telling us her knee and hip are hurting her. I was just calling to see if we could have a nurse come out to check on her or if we should take her into the emergency room.”
“Oh no. I’m glad that you guys were there and able to help get her back in her chair. I’m going to put you on hold if that’s okay, and I’ll call Natasha and see if she’s able to stop by to see her.”
“Thank you so much, Callie. I appreciate it.”
“Okay, give me one second.”
I click the button to put her on hold and pull out my cell phone to make a call to Mrs. Clark’s nurse, Natasha.
Ring. Ring.
Please pick u…
“Hey Cal, what’s up?” Natasha says quietly into the phone.
“Hey, Mrs. Clark’s daughter just called the office and let us know she fell. They were able to get her up into her recliner but she’s complaining of knee and hip pain. Are you able to stop by to see her?” I ask, hopeful.
“I’m actually only about 15 minutes from her house so yeah, once I finish up with Mr. Donaldson I can swing by there and see what’s going on.”
“Okay, thank you. I’ll let her daughter know you’ll be there as quickly as you can.”
“Thank you, Cal.”
“You’re welcome. Hopefully, it’s nothing more than contact pain from hitting the floor.”
“That’s what we always hope for! I’ll talk to you later. Thanks again.”
The call ends and I pick up my office phone hitting the line 3 button to bring Stephanie’s call back up. “Hey, Stephanie. It’s Callie. I was able to get in touch with Natasha and she said that as soon as she’s done with the patient she’s with now she will head towards your mom’s house.”
“Thank you so much! I’ll have my husband keep an eye out so he can let her in.”
“No problem! She said she’s about fifteen minutes away from your mom’s house, so I’d say she’ll be there in half an hour, give or take.”
“Okay, thank you again.”
I hang up my phone and realize that I need to leave soon if I want to make it to my last three patients today before it’s too late. I won’t be coming back to the office, so I grab my work bag and throw everything into it to take with me.
I’ve had so many things pop up this week at work that before I know it it’s Friday and I’m sitting at my desk submitting my weekly notes before I head to the airport. I’m thankful that Jo Ellen okayed me leaving before five so I could catch an earlier flight. Not that a later one would be terrible, but Mason’s got something planned for right after he grabs me from the airport so the earlier the flight, the better.
Last night I was running around my house like a chicken with its head cut off trying to pack my bags. Yes, at the very last minute. I’ve always worked better under pressure and waited until the last minute to get things done. Why stop now? I’ve got everything I need in the back seat of my car—one suitcase and my carry-on. I’ve decided that if I forget anything it’ll be an excuse to go shopping in New York.
Once I’ve submitted all my patient notes I make my way down the hallway to Amy’s office, knocking softly on her door.
“Come in,” Amy says from inside her office. She’s a quiet person and her voice doesn’t carry very far, even when she’s trying.
I slowly push her door open and wave. “Hey, I was just stopping by before I headed out to make sure you didn’t have any questions.”
“Nope, I’m good. You did a great job with your notes. I especially appreciated the patient’s likes and dislikes. I know for some of them it’s hard seeing someone they’re not used to, and it can be offsetting. Walking into the room knowing a few things they’re interested in can help. Knowing what they dislike so that I don’t start on the wrong foot with them also helps.”
“You’re very welcome. I really appreciate you covering for me while I’m gone. I always hate to put more work on y’all.”
“Don’t even worry about it. I’m perfectly happy to cover for you because I know you’d do the same for me.” She says, laughing quietly.
“I love how we’ve got everyone’s backs here. If anything comes up and you need to get a hold of me, don’t hesitate to do so.”
“It’s been that way since I started here. I love it. It’s such a nice refreshing feeling from my last job. I will. Enjoy your weekend!” Amy says as her phone starts ringing.
“Thank you again. See you Tuesday.” I say before closing her door.