what happened to wonder woman?

I am ill. Prior to weight loss surgery I would simply sleep more, take in more fluids and heal with little or no complications. I have been sick once before since surgery and I notice it is quite different now. I am sicker longer, I am more tired, and since I am still breast feeding, I really can't take anything for it. Last time a sinus infection turned into an ear infection that required 2 rounds of antibiotics to clear up. That was not fun boys and girls and boy was it expensive as we had just switched the insurance offered by my employer (starts with k ends with iser hospital). This time I again have some sort of respiratory bug. I am doing home health assignments on the weekends to earn some extra money for Lilith's Christmas extravaganza and to off set the moving costs. I went to a lovely older couples apartment on Saturday and all went well. It wasn't too physically demanding and the husband was more than happy to do all of the talking (he is 86 and stays home taking care of his 94 year old wife). I left them feeling very good that I had gone despite feeling under the weather as the wife got her medications, treatments, a little pampering, and the husband had some social interaction that I could tell he misses. By Sunday, I definitely had taken a turn for the worse but I still had two visits scheduled that day. I knew that the chances of finding someone to cover for me on a Sunday were slim to none so I went to my first assignment. It was another couple only this time the patient was the husband. The wife needed someone to stay with her husband while she did errands and all of the things she can't get done during the week while caring for her husband. I as a parent know the feeling. It too wasn't too physically demanding. The husband slept after I gave him his morning medications and when he awoke and had his noon medications, treatments, etc., he wanted to watch movies. I was feeling pretty lucky at this point as I was really starting to feel pretty bad. When the wife came home he told her to ask me to come back every Sunday because he liked me. That was nice so again, I left feeling glad that I had gone. My next assignment was at 9:30 that night so I went home and tried to rest. Will made dinner and I took a boobie nap with Lilith. I told Will that i had a bad feeling about the next assignment but felt too guilty to call off especially after the wonderful couples I had already assisted. So off I went. When I arrived the patient was in his power chair. I medicated him, set up is bed (he has MS and needed everything positioned just so because he lives alone). It came time to transfer him from the power chair to the bed, I thought, but he wanted to be transferred to the wheelchair first. He told me that he wanted to be transferred with my legs on the outside of his legs, so basically straddling him. I told him with my cracking voice that I didn't think I could do it that way, that I have always done a pivot transfer of a total lift with one leg between the patients leg (picture a sit spin in ice skating), he told me he could stand if I could just lift him to a standing position. If you don't work in health care let me tell you a little unfortunate truth about it, patients lie, I am not saying the do it intentionally, maybe they honestly overestimate their abilities,etc., but the bottom line is if a patient tells you they can do something, even if that can do it one day, it doesn't mean they will be able to do it the next and you should plan for that possibility. Knowing all of that, I believed him and tried to do it his way, for 3 hours. No Joke. I got him to the wheel chair. I had to reposition him at least ten times, pulling him up from behind the chair, repositioning his legs, stopping to give him more water. It was frustrating for both of us. I had to change my gloves twice because the finger tips were full of sweat. My back was killing me but I didn't want to upset the patient by telling him that I couldn't do what he was asking the way he was asking me to do it. I finally did however after he asked me to pull him up again and told me, "don't breathe your sick on me". I told him, "I am sorry that I am sick but I came because I didn't think they would be able to find anyone else and I didn't want to leave someone stranded. You have to give me credit for that. I have been trying for 3 hours to do this your way even though all of my training and experience tells me that I should be doing it another way. I obviously can't do it your way, and I am sorry for that. Would you like me to try to call someone to help?". I called my agencies 24 hour emergency line and got a recording. He had me call two of his day providers and one was at his night job and he left the other one a voice mail. I even called my husband and told him that I might have to make him wake up Lilith and bring her with him so he could help me it was that bad and I was trying not to cry I was so frustrated and upset. It was only then that the patient agreed to try it my way. I got him into the bed on the first try. I positioned him and then male nurse he had left the voice mail for showed up. The male nurse told me that this happens alot only usually the night nurse doesn't show up and he has to come. He said you got it done, I just fluffed his pillows, you did the hard part. I told him that he wasn't there when I was almost crying because I didn't know what I was going to do and I wasn't going to leave the patient in his chair even if I had to ask my husband to bring our baby and come help me. The patient kept apologizing and asking me to stay and have a beer with him. I could tell I was going to cry any minute and told him I needed to get home. I cried all the way home. I was in pain and exhausted. My uniform was wet with sweat and I had completely lost my voice. I was crying, not from the pain but because I was embarrassed, I have always been strong, I have been able to transfer patients that were honestly not safe for one person to transfer but I boldly (and stupidly, just lucky I didn't hurt myself), did it. I have always thought (and honestly have been) I was as strong or stronger than some of my male coworkers. This was the first time in my nursing career that I couldn't make my body do what I wanted it too. Granted the patient was asking me to do it in a way that totally ignored safe body mechanics, but it was upsetting just the same.
I got home and told Will I was going to take a shower. I started up our stairs (pictured above) and fainted. What a lovely day huh? I banged up my left arm and both shins , and have an aching back, but am otherwise okay. I don't know if it was the stress, being sick, or something to do with this surgery but I haven't fainted like that before. I just hope that I am able to get my strength back after I am over this sickness.