The End of April

I went to see Randy this afternoon.  When I was there he told me that he didn't want to get out of his room (a space partitioned by curtains in an open ward).  He didn't look well at all but I was assured by staff that he was okay.  So I went home and fell asleep as I was exhausted. 

Yesterday was something else though.  At about 11:00 I was walking on the sidewalk in front of Kims Fruit and Vegetables and a fortyish white guy called out that I shouldn't be walking the doggies near food.   Where did this guy think food comes from.  It comes from acres filled with dirt and rodents running around and insecticides. The regulation not to have doggies near food I suspect it is but a myth. 

I then went to pick up Randy which was uneventful except for the suction machine again.  The one given to me was inoperable so I had to wait until another one was found.  I wonder if doctors have to check every single thing before they operate.

Dillon a macho male tenant moved from his apartment Saturday and I was shocked that he even took the tulips his mother planted for him the week before.  And he left a 300 pound monster big screen television in the alley and carpetting.  The property agent will have to pay a removal company to take the stuff away.  And to think macho Dillon had a SUV and he could have taken the stuff to recycling. 

Then when I was taking Randy back on Sunday I opened the door and my neighbours, one of which was depositing dog poo on the property said she was picking up my poo for the past year and she didn't think she had to. Finally, I now know who was responsible for all the doggie poo on my steps this past year. I thanked her for fertilizing my flowers and I said that I would have the doggie poo DNAed by Animal Control as I knew that the doggie poo did not belong to Owen or Missey. 

Can you imagine a fifty year old white woman walking up and down the back laneways in Oakridge finding time to scout the laneways for doggie poo and transporting it to who she thinks is its owner. 

Later when I was taking the doggies out she came running after us wanting to know if Missey had just peepeed or poopooed.  She told me that the DNA would not prove anything as all I had to do is go to the park and retrieve doggie poo there and substitute it as the sample.  She was following us so closely that I bolted around the complex into my apartment and locked the door not knowing what next to expect from her. A few weeks earlier she was lecturing to me that I was a liar and she was telling me things that I could not believe she knew.  I do not know how it got to the point where she said that she had phoned the police and accused me of I hitting her.  I went horrorified and ran as fast as I could from her to my place and phoned 911 to tell it that I did not hit that woman.  Where do these people come from.  It is beyond me.

After I returned Randy to Pearson I found on my door a large sign saying No Smoking and that I was being reported to the property agent and also the fire marshall. My lease doesn;t say anything about not smoking. I do not think a landlord can legally prevent someone from smoking in their rented units. How would anyone even know if I was smoking in my unit or not.  Do they have a key and enter my place when I am not here.  You can only ignore this type of behavior for so long.  You run and hide and hope things get better but they don't.

I know that twenty percent of the population at any one time in their lives need a shrink but between GPC and this place I have been living with the twenty percent.  I feel that I am in a snake pit most of the time..

When I approached GPC today one of the residents was on the sidewalk and she was visibly upset.  She told me that a care aid refused to change her fleece top as it was wet in two larges places because the care aid had to go on her break.  When I worked when a customer needed something I made sure he got it then I went on a break.  I phoned the manager of GPC and I hope the care aid is told to be a little more caring of her charges. Better yet I hope the manager will apologize to the longterm resident.

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Another Day; Another Stress

The day started out really well.  I spoke to one of Randys' relatives who was interested in what was happening to Randy and she said Randy was lucky to have someone like me. There is always a Aunt Betty to a black sheep in a family. I then went to get my new glasses.  Then I went to GPC and when I said to the nurse that the suction machine was not suctioning she said that it was working a few minutes ago like I must have broke it.  Ya, the machine made noise when you turned it on but there was no suction.  There has been a constant interchange for months between staff and me as the suction machine is seldom equipped to be fully operationable when I go and see Randy. GPC is so cheap that on most occasions I only get one face cloth to attend to any discharge Randy coughs up. There must be a rumour that I steal worn out faceclothes.  I get so fed up with how staff conducts itself.  They rush and rush and rush and I have come to the conclusion they just rush and rush and rush just to create an atmosphere that they are doing something and the more they rush the less anyone will expect from them. They are so rushed that even I am intimidated not to disturb them. No time for chit chat. Their behavior is now coming across asprofessional acting badly performed. Something they must have learned in nursing acting school. Staff can take a few minutes to make sure I am satisfied with the condition Randy is in before they drop him off and run.  I do not know if he is eating, did he have a poopoo, did he go to Physio, or did he pull out his trach.  One thing I did learn today that after one year no one has shown Randy how to operate the tv remote control.  No one has taken the time. I did ask Randy today if he has any friends at GPC.  He said no.  Therefore the reason for GPC being a residential care facility where residents make friends does not exist.  For the most part Randy lives in a world of doing nothing.  If he does nothing when will he be ready to be able to do anything.  If you don't use it you loose it but then maybe that is GPC's agenda. Maybe it is time for the readers to view You Tube. The video being BC's Health Authorities on How to Effectively Communicate with the Public. Note:  After one year this You Tube video has only 580 views.  This video should have went viral.
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To be insulted, to be humilitated, to be disgraced

My patience is at an end. I was just told that I am not allowed to use the toilet in Ward 1 (a Ward that is not fully utilized --). GPC is doing everything possible so that I have no contact with the residents or staff.  What is GPC trying to do.  Totally bizarre.  So far I have never been told what harm I ever committed. Trying to be friendly should be encouraged not banned. I worked twenty-five years in retail I know how to say hi to people. There are serious things wrong with VCH but who will address them. None of this would have progressed this far if I was, as promised, afforded an independent investigation of the alledged behavior I was guilty of which resulted in my banning forever from the bedside of my friend, Randy Michael Walker.  Linda Rose promised me this at the open Board Meeting June 2011.  She then just abruptly changed her mind and the Chairman of the Board won't interfere even though her decision was contrary to VCH's own policies.  I question the competency of the Board. 

GPC phoned me saying that Randy wasn't feeling well on Tuesday and he didn't want to get up as he had a fever.  So I ran down there being escorted by the head nurse who said that I could only have a few minutes.  Randy did not have a fever.  I reminded him of the appointment we had offsite to get him a new pair of glass frames and he decided to get up.  But of course that wasn't possible. I am not sure why it wasn't possible but that is the answer I got. 

I have been using that washroom for a year. What further humiliation do I have to face.

cc to Kip Woodward, Chair of VCH
cc to Bob Chapman, Risk Management of VCH

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Thank You for Sharing The Randy Michael Walker Foundation

Another week has passed and it seems like an hour. So many things have happened but I do not have the energy to explain. A gentleman was very kind to me on Tuesday and he said thank you for sharing my experiences with VCH with him. It was the nicest compliment I received so far. I hope I can meet him again. Thank you for sharing. I will never forget.

I have started another blog called the Randy Michael Walker Foundation. The prime purpose of the Foundation is to create an interest group to change the BC Residential Tenancy Act and Strata Act to allow companion pets if a doctor thinks it is necessary for the well-being of a patient. I have spoken to many retired people and they all would like a pet. I know for me if I didn't have Randy's two rescued doggies, I would be a worse basket case than I am. The doggies demand attention and they control me totally. Missey is a golden retriever about 11 years old and the little dog, Owen, is about ten years old. Both of them are devils and they have taken over my apartment as their own: it is their house. They are happy. And they love each other. And they love strawberries and cantaloupe. And they keep me young and fit and sometimes focused. Both are very joyful and are always playing catch me if you can. Both of them are smart. They are trained so that at 7:00 am both of them go to the lane and on a small grass patch have a quick peepee and then they run back into the house. I have to rely on charity to pay for their maintenance; both are very healthy. I want Randy and others from George Pearson Centre to create the companion pet action initiative. I spoke to Karen a resident at GPC and she is excited to help. If any of you readers like the idea please write a letter, email or phone to say you are on board. And send $1.00 or stamps to pay for overhead, if you can. I do not want to do a petition rather I want letters/emails/phone calls with comments on topic. I want it to be a very interative experience with boxes and boxes of letters, emails, and telephone messages overflowing and we will acknowledge each of your comments. And off to the parliament buildings we will go...

Randy Michael Walker
Ward 2
George Pearson Centre,
700 West 57th Avenue,
Vancouver, BC. V6P 1S2
604-321-5911/604-321-3231

audreyjlaferriere@gmail.com
604-321-2276
75-543 Powell Street
Vancouver BC
V6A 1G8

or 5976B Cambie Street
Vancouver BC
V5Z 392

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Abuse and Neglect

When is abuse and neglect so commonplace that it isn't abuse or neglect anymore.   I suspect it is when you become so battered that you don't care any more.

Letter to Worksafe and Union December 15 2011

In my quest to have an independent investigation by an outside party into the allegations that infringed on Randy's rights to associate with me as well as my access to him, I sent the below worded letter to Work Safe and to the Employees Union to investigate the bullying which I was subjected to as it involved safe practices.  Nothing came of the two letters.  Since then the young man who incessantly rang his call bell has died and I wasn't even afforded the opportunity to attend his memorial service although I was but a few hundred feet away. I will never forgive GPC for this.



15 December 2011


Contents of email to jacqueline.dulac@worksafebc.com

Subject: George Pearson Centre

___________________________________________________________________


My name is Audrey Jane Laferriere.

For the past ten months I have been constructively banned from George Pearson Centre because I was a safety issue for the residents, staff and visitors of GPC. The hours I am allowed to see Randy are during the day from 2:00 to 4:00 sometimes to 4:30 pm from MtoF. These hours are very difficult for me and I have had to change my life to accommodate and forgo other commitments. I am not allowed to visit Randy on weekends, holidays or weekends that are the usual hours for friends and visitors. I am not allowed to see Randy in his ward (his home for the next fifteen years) so I cannot attend to his personal comfort like using his remote to find tv channels he would enjoy. I can only see him if he is feeling up to it and then it is in the piano room across from security. Randy has very little mobility and cannot speak.

Although I tried to adhere to the written policies of VCH to appeal this banning, I was not afforded the opportunity to talk to those that accused me nor was I allowed an independent investigation into the incident(s).

The tipping point for my constructive banning was when I went into a resident's room and gave him a plush toy in February 2011 and a LPN followed me into the resident's room, grabbed the plush toy from my hand, said the resident didn't need the toy, and told me that I wasn't allowed in his room. The plush toy wasn't returned to me; it landed up in the nurses’ station in full view. Up until that time I was friendly with the resident and the week prior I had given him another plush toy. Plush toys are necessary for residents so they have something soft and cuddly to touch; a substitute for human contact. And this young man had a habit of incessantly using his call bell to call nursing staff because he was lonely.

This whole incident is about bullying by a few staff, a few residents, and one visitor which bullying is still continuing. My reputation has been damaged beyond repair. Since bullying can be dangerous, it must fall under your purview.

If you could investigate the incidents I would appreciate it.


Audrey Laferriere

audreyjlaferriere@gmail.com

604-321-2276

http://voiceofgoneballistic.blogspot.com

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Too Good to be true

For the past few days, everything was going okay, and this morning I awoke with a sense of foreboding around me and sure enough Marion reminded me of my unrealistic restrictions to visit Randy.  I am only allowed to visit Randy and not allowed to attend any GPC activities -- those activities that are used to normalize the residents and their significant others are invited like church, like residents council meetings, like the garden club, like the canteen, like bingo.

My presence is apparently upsetting Rod and Willy in Ward 2.  After a year I tried to be pleasant to Rod a few days ago and he like a spoilt child runs off behind my back saying I invaded his space because I stood in his doorway and asked how was he feeling as his brother recently died and Rod was in VGH for a few weeks. During the Christmas we were talking about his life so I assumed that things were okay between us.  He complained about me a year ago so he might have decided again to paint me.  If not he can get in touch with me and I will apologize because maybe someone else saw us.

And then there is Willy, the resident bully. The resident bully who buys bulk food at Costco and stores it in his resident-wife's cupboard and cooks his meals in the common kitchen although it is said in the GPC Residents Manual that visitors are allowed only tea and a cookie sometimes. I have asked that his cooking cease but no.  There is avery large cafeteria where food can be purchased reasonably from the kitchen.   Both of these caring persons are featured in the You Tube video Envisioning Home.  How can these giants be afraid of a 70 year old woman weighing 100 pounds.

This has been going on for close to two years and it is going to continue like Linda Rose said until Randy dies and even on his death bed I would not be allowed into Ward 2.  GPC does not have to have a reason to expel anyone. And what can I do: nothing. I have no money for lawyers and GPC is private property owned by the taxpayers so maybe it can. So much for the myth that GPC is a home for the incurables.

For the past few days I have been asking residents what they thought of someone cooking fresh fried food in a ward.  Would it cause a resident to become upset especially if he is on tube feed or even on hospital food.  I could not find one resident who thought it was appropriate.  One of the comments I heard was that it was torture.  And Willy is still cooking there.  Randy is a quad in a bed close to the common kitchen, he can't talk, he can't walk, he can't eat.  Even if he was in a position to object  staff would still allow Willey to cook and eat there because Willey has positioned himself to be well liked by the staff. In January when Randy was refusing his feed I asked management to stop the process as Randy only wanted real food to eat and the smell of food cooking could cause that craving.

As for Willy he lets it be known that if you say anything about him no one will believe you.  And it is true. Through the years residents have complained about Willy and he is still entrenched there. Doesn't he have a life besides becoming friendly with the nurses in Ward 2 and other female residents in plain view of his wife and everyone else. I would look at this scenario and I would become nauseous.  His wife is in the latter stages of Lou Gehrig's disease.  I remember on New Year's day I was at GPC and saw his wife being sent to VGH and rather than accompany her he went to the GPC New Years Day party. 



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