this post was submitted on 12 Jul 2025
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Don't be mean. I promise to do my best to judge that fairly.
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I've been on the opposite side of that, with a human patient.
Was providing some care that required me to support the patient with one hand while doing some less than comfortable work (impaction removal). The patient's daughter was rubbing his shoulder, only my hand was there, so she was actually rubbing my wrist.
She didn't realize it until I had to shift my position with that hand and warned her I was going to be moving. Like you, she got embarrassed and apologized. I just shrugged and said it was no biggie, I would have said something but I was concentrating and needed the moral support. Which turned it into a mutually humorous thing, so we had a good laugh.
That sounds like a mutually beneficial thing, then!
My aunt, a nurse, once told me of how manual impaction removals are. I was never quite sure whether to believe her (she liked to go for shock value) but eventually found out she was telling the truth.
That was some twenty years ago. Once or twice since, whilst struggling on my own, I've hoped that the process has improved since then.
Lmao! If only it could be improved.
I always hated doing them, not because of the nature of the job but because even when I was younger, my hands (and therefore fingers) were on the large side. Large hands means large fingers. I guess you can see where that would be a detrimental trait for impaction removal lol.
At one point, I wore a size 15 ring and my company had to special order gloves for me. And that was roughly around the same time as that patient. So the fingers I had to use were bigger than 15 by a good bit. Plus, I was still lifting some, but had taken up a casual practice of what's called iron palm training. That's where you repeatedly slam your hands into things to make them tougher. That's an exaggeration, it isn't all that harsh, but still.
So I ended up telling the one company I worked for that I really needed to not be doing them. The supervisor at the time was a pretty great lady, but she didn't quite get the issue. I took a risk and just slapped my hand down on the desk with my index and middle fingers out and asked her if she'd like me to help her clear her bowels. It worked! I cleared her bowels and got a raise.
Nah, that last part is obviously a joke, but I did get her cooperation lol
Next time I'm constipated, I'm not calling you.
You sure? I'm told I have a reassuring voice that almost makes it an enjoyable process
You know what? If it ever gets to that point, perhaps I'll reconsider in the moment.
Have gloves, will travel reads the card of a man!