My service learning
journey began with a rather easy and short hour and a few minutes of helping
five elderly ladies wheel their way to the Bistro where these ladies had drinks
and saw some of their other friends and former neighbors from the nearby
apartments. I introduced myself and then
I started asking each one of them to tell about what they had done in their
life for a living. There were teachers,
a banker, and a house wife and part-time advertising agent. I helped wheel them all to their next
activity for that day, which was lunch. There I helped with tying on bibs
mostly and my time was up for that day.
I did not learn much as of yet, other than getting to know some neat
ladies. I also wondered if they would remember me the next time I was there.
The
next time I volunteered for the care home was a few days later and as I arrived
I saw that the workers were disorganized and the place was a little bit
chaotic. The music therapy lady had not
shown up yet. I sat down at the piano and began playing hymns. The elderly joined in by singing along with
the songs and I was very amazed at how alert some of them became. They may have appeared to be sleeping in their
wheelchairs prior to the music, but they slowly were aroused and awakened and
even joyous. I decided right then and there
that music really was a very wonderful thing.
The
music therapy lady arrived and we did aerobics and then I helped wheel the
regular ladies to the Bistro for drinks and visiting with friends. As I had expected, these ladies did not
remember me. So strange to think about the deterioration of the mind and how in
some ways these ladies were fine and by delving into their minds just even a
little you could understand that their mental capacities were failing
them.
Again,
I helped wheel them to lunch and apply bibs.
Bibs are a must for this age group.
Just as bibs are needed for infants and toddlers, so it is for the
elderly in nursing homes. I became very
sad from time-to-time as I tried to help some order food and others with spills
or with drink refills. One older
gentleman had spilled his hot cocoa on his lap and no one had noticed. I helped him with it a little bit until
someone was available to take him to get cleaned up.
Some
of the other things that helped with included playing games, such as, 20
questions. It was very neat to see how
some were a walking history book, or one might be a walking encyclopedia. Then
others were lost in their own thoughts.
I read the newspaper to some that had poor eyesight and some that needed
to be distracted so that they would not leave their seats or want to leave and
go back to their rooms. It was very hard
not to get a little teary-eyed at times.
One lady just needed to use the restroom, but there was not enough
actual employees to help, so I wheeled her to back to her room and sat with her
until the nurse was able to get to her. Another
lady was busy putting her arms under her shirt, so asked her if she was
cold. I did not get much of a response
out of the resident, so I went to the employee to ask about this woman. The
employee just casually said, “Oh, she does that all the time.” I thought that she might be cold, so I asked
for a blanket. My previous experience with this one resident in particular was
all garbally-gook or broken speech. She had previously been completely
dumb-founded in the lunch room and no clear speech, so I assumed she had had a
stroke and could not communicate properly anymore. So, as I walked over with the
blanket to put in on her and see if she would accept my gesture she clearly
said, “Thank you.” Another moment of holding back tears.
What
I learned from this experience is that I dread getting old for sure and that
nursing facilities, just like preschools and elementary schools will always
need volunteers. Not just volunteers, I say these people need advocates. Advocates to help with the seemingly small
things, but are a tremendous help for all involved. In one sense these people are neglected but
in another sense the facilities are doing a great deal with and for them and
their families. The employees of these
facilities also sometimes grow immune to the needs of these people and fail to
see the needs of the patients, but not in the way one might think. These employees are doing their jobs to full
capacity, but just like young children, the elderly need care in the same way. It might be getting a tissue for wiping a nose
or recognizing that someone is cold and just wants a blanket.
There
is a great need for an advocacy program for these wonderful people that have
lived interesting and hard lives. I wish that each facility would make it a
requirement that each person had a family member or friend come in to be their
advocate at least a minimum of hours a week for the sake of all the people
involved. There would be less guilt on
the part of the family and the employees.
I believe that all involved will be much
more at ease in helping these poor beautiful souls live out their last days.
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