See, my dad has been through hell since January. He's had heart attacks, broken bones, brain injuries, surgeries upon surgeries and lord knows what else. Since February, he's been taken care of by a certified nurse's assistant. And, apparently since February, his home health aide has been manipulating him to give her extra money.
He's been convinced that her lot in life is so bad that he has to save her. When he went back into the hospital in late April, he insisted that even though she wasn't working, she should still be paid. He tried to have his law firm put her on his payroll. He called his accountant and demanded that she be reimbursed for child care, etc.
My mom is horrified by all of this and refused to pay this woman or do any of the other things dad was demanding. So, dad went to his law partner, who also refused, then to my brother, who sided with mom and finally, his accountant, who also refused. Dad screamed, yelled, threw things, accused everyone of conspiring against him, cried, you name it. He and mom barely talk any more.
Mom finally got the guts up to fire this woman and refuses to pay her anything else. Dad tried to have the woman hired by a home health agency so he could then hire her through them, but when mom found out, she refused to let the woman back into the house. Mom was so worried about all of this, that she called my father's cardiologist to make sure it wouldn't kill my dad.
It's an utter freakin' disaster.
Despite all of this, I was shocked to discover that Mom isn't interested in reporting this woman. DESPITE the fact that mom worked for years as an advocate for the elderly and saw first hand the kind of damage a manipulative health care worker could do, DESPITE the fact that this woman clearly crossed boundaries that home health care professionals shouldn't cross, DESPITE the fact that this woman messed with my very vulnerable father, mom doesn't want to do anything.
Now, it's difficult to figure out just who you would report a C.N.A. to. They don't report to the Board of Nursing Education like nurses do. In fact, it took me two days and a long-distance phone call to the State of Texas H&HS dept. before I figured it out. So, I thought maybe mom just didn't know who to talk to. I gave her the info and she still didn't do anything with it. She doesn't want to. A former social worker and advocate for the elderly who is TRAINED in recognizing this kind of dangerous denial in others doesn't see it in herself.
Where does my spike-covered marshmallow self come in? I yelled at my mother. I informed her that she has a moral responsibility to report this woman before she does this to anyone else. I told her that she had a month to think it over. At the end of that month, if mom hasn't reported this woman...I will. See if I don't. No one fucks with my family.
