Roaches on Wheels

As some of you know, I'm applying to a graduate therapy program and am completing observation hours. So most of the clients are kids and a few are adults who aged out of the program but still recieve limited therapy. So, about 4 hours into my observations, I noticed a dark black roach scuttling across the floor. Okay, so it happens. But then I saw two, then three and by this time the entire staff was shrieking and standing their desks. About five seconds later, an adult client rolled in with her electric wheelchair.

Are you making the connection here? A quadriplegic who eats, sleeps, and presumably uses the bathroom in her wheelchair, massive roach infestation, and shrieking therapists. So the bravest therapist was dispatched to peel the client out of the chair, help her shower and change, while another therapist and I "drove" the chair outside and fumigated it with four or five cans of roach spray. Those things were just flying around and threatening us with their antennae. We lost count of dead roaches at about 50. Barf.

Now, humor this question a moment:
How is it that a person with a full time, live-in caregiver is driving around in a roach motel (roach trailer?)? How can a quadriplegic with full mental abilities but no way to talk maintain any kind of dignity knowing that her skin is crawling with roaches? I need to keep laughing before I start crying.