- Not The Only One!
- Post# 45
- “THE APPLAUSE “
- Howdy and once again welcome. If this is your first time here, I want to say thank you for taking the time to visit. My name is Sandy, and I write under the name ” Sandy The Southerner “. If you are looking for a specific topic blog, such as for cooking , gardening, or automotive repair, you are in the wrong place. However, I’ve been told that I can be slightly amusing at times, so if you need a break from the every day mundane, you may enjoy my jaded personality on a variety of topics, with not the usual perspectives . This blog is not for everyone, so please keep that in mind, if you need a more detailed explanation, you may want to go back to the beginning and read over the introduction. If you enjoy it or find it corky, please feel free to share the link and feedback is certainly welcome . I was saving this post for the magic number of # 50, when I will actively start promoting the blog, thus far, it has been word of mouth, or people stumbling upon it by happen stance. Life and things don’t always go according to plan, so here we are at post # 45 , instead. This post is dedicated to health care professionals and anyone who is there to help out a fellow human being. It makes no matter if you are a paid health care worker, a good Samaritan, or someone who volunteers their time on a regular basis to a shelter, soup kitchen, or someone who is mentoring a youth. The world could always use just a little more kindness, in which ever way you choose to demonstrate it . For some reason it always seems to be the people on the ends of the spectrum that are most marginalized, and what I mean by that is the elderly or children, you know the ones who can’t always find their voice, and are sometimes the most preyed upon. I was in Florida a couple of months ago visiting my daughter and her family. While I was there, we took her two five year old’s to the park, and while we were there, a school bus pulled up, full of special needs children. I was trying to keep an eye on my two , but I couldn’t help but notice the interchange and interaction between these children and those who were charged with their care and well-being. Talk about a full time job, and a need to pay attention to details. I’m sure that these were paid professionals, but it has to be somewhat of a calling on your life. So much patience , care, understanding and empathy for young human beings, who have very little to no idea of the parallels all around them. I’m not sure if I could say the same thing thirty times a day, let alone within the same hour. We have that at one end of the spectrum and on the other end, we have the elderly. I have shared this before here, about my grandfather and how very close we were. I also made mention that it wasn’t pretty when he got to near the end of his life. I look back fondly over the story that I shared about him cutting the grass in his boxers, wearing a pair of combat boots. It was comical and at the same time a little sad. I remember him being forced to retire do to his age, not his health and on some level , after that he seemed to have lost his zest for life. Remember, this was old school, before people sort to retire at forty or as early as possible to enjoy life and travel. I guess for him, his work was enjoying life. We are a far cry off from what was dubbed as the ” greatest generation ” I know that many of you out there are connected with the health care field, specifically dealing with elder care and put in long hours, and doing that often with very little to no appreciation, and especially since Covid has forever changed our world. There has been a great emphasis put on our military and first Responders, and it should be, very different and difficult calling, however what you guys do is uniquely important as well, and often means the difference between someone being able to obtain and maintain their dignity. I have seen and appreciated some of the post to social media, when you guys have a highly functioning elderly person charged in your care, be it them singing and dancing, telling a joke, performing a corny magic trick , or some other incredible feat for someone of their advanced age. While this can be both highly encouraging and entertaining , I also know that this is not the norm, and such cases can, be far and few in between. There are facets of your job that are hard to watch or to engage in . Those times when you have an individual who is nonverbal and just stares out into space. This is the classic the lights are on, but no one is at home. I know that you guys are charged with feeding some , who can’t feed themselves, and that could be something considered on the lighter side of things, when it comes to dressing them, bathing them and sometimes even having to change them, ie diapers, and dispensing medications. I know that sometimes these are people who were highly successful in life and achieved great accomplishments during their careers, and now, it is as if all of that is locked away deep inside of them to never resurface again. And we are talking a wide array of professions, from teachers, doctors, lawyers, architects, you name it and you will see that Alzheimer’s and dementia are no respecter of individuals. Some of them are angry about their predicament and circumstances and desperately just want to go home and visit loved ones who have been gone for years. Some don’t recognize loved ones, not even the ones closest to them such as a spouse or children. I can’t even begin to imagine someone cussing you out over frustrations that are well beyond your control. And the very next day, they do it again and the things that they say would both give a sailor a bad name and make them blush. Was Tourette syndrome , first brought to light I a memory care facility? Just saying and trying to keep the humor to a minimum. This is also heart breaking for loved ones who come and visit them, and try to reconcile who they are now with the person they use to be. They may have been a big and strong father with such wisdom and insight, accompanied by a strong shoulder to cry on, just in case there was a need. They possibly were a sibling that you remember fighting over the tree swing at the lake, to see who would get wet first. One of hardest may be a mother who was always bright eyed, full of love and hope for her kids, with just the right words for when life had thrown us a curve ball, that we didn’t see coming. She use to babysit ,so you and your spouse could have date night and get some alone time away from the kids, and now she is the one in need of babysitting. Life can be harsh and sometimes we just have to make the best of it. There was this one nurse by the name of Cassie. She came to work one evening and looked at her chart and noticed that she had two residents that always threw a fit about having to bath. She thought to herself, that she was going to surprise them and tell them that they had won a spa day, and they both bought it and were excited and cooperated. She said the best part was that she could use it again the next day, because they wouldn’t remember it. ☺️☺️I think that is what you call bitter/ sweet, but I do applaud nurse Cassie for her out of the box thinking. I know that for every success story ,there is also others that don’t bring a smile to our faces. At the height of Covid, I know that staffing was a huge issue and still is in many areas. I remember hearing stories of bonuses being paid for picking up extra shifts, putting more demands on already weary care givers and with that came collateral damage. There was a really dedicated CNA, who lost there job because they failed to check on a resident who was a fall risk, and sadly they got out of the bed by themselves and fell, breaking a hip, yes bones are frail at that stage of life. This can be a very difficult industry, however it also has its rewards. When family members come into facilities and thank you for doing a great job with a loved one , it does warm the heart. They may be thankful for you guys decorating the place for valentines day , or Christmas, so that it may bring just a little bit more joy or happiness to the residents .Sometimes they bring goodies or treats as a thank you. Sadly this is also the end of the line for most. They are Acquiesce until the end, or possibly health issues may lead them to a regular hospital, very rarely is it back to a home where family can take care of them. Death is a very real and certain part of this industry. I don’t want to end this on a down note, because it is hard work at every phase of the organization, so no matter what part you play, you are a key essential to it being, a pleasant as possible stay. The challenge is often to meet residents where they are. Some may just have memory care issues and others, may have a gambit of health issues accompanied with the memory loss. My cap is tipped for all of the activity directors who find things for them to do, to help them to pass the days with. This is no small feat, when dealing with a variety of personality types and varied levels of functioning. I don’t want to single out one sector such as the activity directors, because it truly is a team effort and everyone plays a part. I want to applaud all of you, and no matter how hard I try, I’m sure that I will miss paying homage to someone in the sector. This post is supposed to be a huge THANK YOU, for all of you guys ,who work with the elderly in any capacity. I know that this covers a huge cross section of individuals from feeding them, the kitchen staff, doing activities with them, and sometimes just listening to them reminiscing about past times and yes, sometimes not in there right minds. I know that there are people who do evaluations on them , nurses and doctors, that can determine a great many things from medications to whether they can be self sustaining or need a significant amount of assistance or supervision over things that we mostly take for granted such as dressing ourselves, feeding one’s self, to need help bathing and going to the restroom. You guys are proof that super heroes don’t always wear capes. My hat is off to you guys ,,when you may have one of the residents talk to you like Tourette syndrome is going out of style and they are single handily trying to keep it from becoming a lost art form. ☺️☺️ There are also numerous people who are not directly on the front lines, such as marketing people and sales people who are charged with matching up residents with the right living quarters. The executive directors who are responsible for oversight on the entire operation. Again I applaud each and everyone of you who approach your job as an act of service, in making others lives better and more sustainable. We have come along way from the dark days of locking up people and throwing away the key. The job that the CNAs do are just incredible and not always at the top of the pay scale, so you guys deserve extra recognition and a feather in your cap. Please know that when you have a difficult resident or an extremely frustrating day, that what you do matters, and while it may seem as if it goes unappreciated, it is one of the most sincere forms of love that you can show someone, and it is never wasted. So, if you are a Nascar fan, take your victory lap. If you appreciate some other sport or art form, go to center court or the middle of the stage, and take a bow, because the rousing applauds , are for you . Keep up the good work, great job and remember, that it matters.
- Great job to all !!!!
- Till next time ✌️ peace,
- Sandy The Southerner
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