I have a test at school this afternoon.   I have to give my lab partner a full bed-bath.  Then, when I'm done and my tutor has graded my performance, I'll have to lie in the bed and let my lab partner give ME a bed-bath.

Oh joy. 

I guess it could be worse; I could be giving a bed-bath to someone who has Alzheimer's or an other form of dementia and who has decided that their bowel movement is something to play in.  That happens a lot, actually.  It's a common thing for elderly people with demetia to play in their poo and daub it all over their bodies and beds and sometimes other people.  That's when a little tub of Vicks Vaporub and a surgical mask comes in handy.  It's not so bad to clean up if the smell is diminished.

Bed-baths are not a commonplace activity in long term care facilities anymore, according to my instructor.  Most patients get showers - they're put in special wheelchairs, rolled underneath a showerhead in their bathroom, and literally hosed down.  However, with hospice, bedbaths are a frequent thing, so I've paid attention to what we've been taught and am hoping that I don't mess the sequence up (there's a specific way of doing things and there's a specific sequence.  Mess it up, and you mess up your score).  I think I'm going to be ok, though. 

I have to say that I like cleaning people up.  I think it's because there's a lot of touching involved; you can't wash someone's body clean without playing your hands on them.  Touch is a wonderful thing and, as I've said before, people underestimate it's power.  Maybe I'll change my mind after I've had to clean up someone who's dabbled in their feces, but right now....I like it. 

Once we get done with the bed-baths we're moving on the enemas.

Now THOSE I don't think I'm going to like!