[Blindtlk] Two questions about administerring medicine.

[Christopher-Mark Gilland]

I have two questions.  Again, now, I'm the one who probably is askking 
admittedly a very valid question, but yet a somewhat awquard question.

I often have to babysit a little girl.  She's the  sweetest little thing at 
4 years old, but blesser heart, she has two medications she has to take on a 
regular basis.  Usually, her mom gives them to her before leaving her for 
the evening in my care, but the mom has expressed that she really would like 
for me to learn to do this myself for her.  It's not a matter of her being 
lazy and not wanting to take care of her child.  Don't even go there!  It's 
just she is in her words, trying to prove to me that I can! do this, and 
that just because I am blind, doesn't mean anything in context of the action 
at hand.

So, here's more specifically the deal.  She has to be given a kitchen spoon 
sized doce of liquid medicine.  I know it's usually the same principle as 
putting liquid on a spoon when cooking then putting it in your mixing bowl 
or whatever, but I cannot for the life of me find an easy way to do this. 
I'm always so frightened that I'm gonna miss and hit her eye, or bopper on 
the nose or worse when trying to get it in her mouth.  She usually does open 
up, which is a plus.  I don't think she really minds the taste, but it's 
just very hard for me, as I get really nurvous, and my hands start 
trembling.  I'm not so much scared of getting it in her mouth, as I am of 
spilling it off the spoon.  Yeah, I could pour it in a little cup then just 
have her drink it that way, but then it makes it really really hard to 
measure out the correct amount, and I'd be scared I'd give her too much, or 
too little.

The other med she has to take is much, and I do mean much much much much! 
more difficult.  I do want some hints on the above, but here's the one I'm 
r'r'r'r'really! struggling with that I desperetly! could use some blind tips 
on.  She also has to take a medication which is injected as a shot.  Poor 
baby!  And what makes it worse is, she's not exactly a very good sport about 
it either.  To say she's really brave is bigger than the state of Texas of a 
lie.  LOL!  Let's just say, you'd better be wearing ear plugs or cotton 
balls if you have sensitive ears, as it's ear screeching!  Anyway, the thing 
is, I don't just get scared the few times I've been asked to give it to her, 
but I just about pannick myself.  I know, one would say to me, there's my 
first problem right there!  Don't? pannick!  The first time I start that, 
I'll make it more scarey for her, plus, I'll start doing dumb things.  The 
mom has said for me to start by just taking a deep breath before I do it, 
but my biggest concern is, I can't feel  the point of the needle when it 
goes in.  Oh yeah, she screams bloody murder, which is usually an indication 
that I'm in, at which point, I push the plunger until it clicks, but my 
thing is, I can't see it go in, and being it's so sharp, I have naturally a 
really really heavy hand.  I'm scared I'll jabber!  Actually, a few times, I 
have made about a half inch cut on her arm where she wenced back flinching 
in pain, and therefore my hand slipped.  I don't wanna grab her little arm 
too hard, as it's gonna hurt her already escrutiatingly as is, but then, you 
add my tight grip on top a that?  No? thank you!  We've tried having her lie 
down on her bed on her back, so that she can only resist but so much, but it 
still is very difficult.  Further, I'm even just as much scared that if I 
feel where I'm about to stick her, for one, it won't be staril, and for 2, 
I'm just as much, if not more, frightened that I'll wind up accidentally 
sticking myself.  Granted, I've not hit the plunger, so it's not like I'd 
get any of the medication, God forbid, but it still would hurt like a son of 
a gun!

So, if any of you who're blind with absolutely no vision at all like shapes, 
colors, etc. have given an injection, especially even more so if it was to a 
little rugrat, how do you safely do this?  The mom is really insistant on, 
you can do this, you just need to relax, and calm down.  I just feel I'm 
always so tense, and hurky jerky when I do it.  There's gotta be a way!

Chris.