If you're eating right now, put down your food because after reading this, you'll feel like ralphing. Two male nurses are being investigated after a security camera caught them apparently molesting a 98-year-old woman who was paralyzed due to a stroke. In one video, a male nurse appears to kiss the woman, and in another, he apparently undoes the drawstring of his pants and puts her hand on his privates. The two nurses, Russel Torabala and Alfredo Ruiz, also appear to fondle each other in front of her. Relatives say that while the woman cannot move or communicate, she is aware of everything going on around her. Ugh! Talk about disrespecting your elders.

The woman was being taken care of at home by workers from AMS Homecare Solutions. Her family had also installed a security camera to monitor her care (good thing!). When they decided to take a look at some of the footage, they were appalled by what they saw.

The victim's family is suing the two men as well as their employer (who, it turns out, may not have even been licensed for home care) and the case is being looked at by officials for possible criminal charges. Meanwhile, the two have had their license for home care work suspended but are still allowed to work at hospitals! Scary. Let's hope hospital human resources people read the news.

When I read that one of the nurses "kissed" the woman, my mind went wild. But what I saw seemed like a peck on the forehead or cheek. I'm not saying this is right by any means, especially when it also appears he is fondling his "nurse buddy" and possibly put her hand on his privates, but at least it wasn't as terrible as I'd imagined.

This generation is called the "sandwich generation" because many of us are sandwiched between raising children and taking care of our senior parents. And it seems we have to worry about nursing care in the same way we'd worry about child care. We also recently heard about the female home care attendant accused of assaulting a 106-year-old woman with a sex toy!

Some women crow a lot about raising their own children, but it's not always feasible to take care of our elderly too, especially when we're also trying to take care of kids, hold down a job, and our parents have health issues like paralysis or dementia that make it impossible to care for them properly. Unless you've spoon-fed, diapered, turned over hourly, dispensed medications, bathed, and everything else that needs to be done for some severely disabled elderly, please don't say you'd do it all yourself. Most of us need help with our elders, and luckily, most senior care providers are nothing like these two.

And let's hope these two excuses for nurses don't get their jobs back any time soon. Here is some of the surveillance video. What do you think about it?

Does this make you fear for hiring care for your parents?


Image via Channel 6 News San Diego