On Friday morning I made my way over to the health care facility. When I got there I was told that we would be making cookies for the first hour. I went around and rounded up as many of the residents as I could that wanted to participate. I'm starting to see that the same residents are the ones coming to the activity times. It does not seem like many of the others really want to even bother coming because they either see no point, or they just have no idea what is going on and cannot comprehend anything. After making the cookies we made our way over to the larger activity room to play with a huge parachute to get their upper muscles working. Every one of the residents that I've met so far are confided to a wheelchair, so the nurses and staff try their hardest to make sure that the residents exercise some part of their body. While playing with the parachute I was talking with one of the staff members about one of the residents that was particularly enjoying this activity. He seemed so happy and had the biggest smile across his face the entire time. I pointed this out to the staff member, after which she informed me that he suffered from something called sundown. Sundown is a condition very common in dementia patients, it occurs when it starts to become dark out and the patient will start to become very aggressive and moody. They get sad and depressed and do not understand where they are or why they are there. I really enjoy spending time with the residents but it is starting to take a toll on my emotions. It’s really hard to watch these people suffer like this.
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3 comments:
Kristi, I totally know what you're talking about. I am volunteering with hospice patients and that is definitely hard emotionally, having real conversations with these people knowing that they are seriously ill and will die soon. Good luck keeping your emotions under control, I know I'm sure going to have to try!
Wow, it sounds like you really are helping to bring some fun in their lives, even as they get older.
We are working with the same kinds of people so its fun to read your posts! Was it hard to make cookies with the people? I never thought of doing that, I may suggest it where I'm working. I know what you mean when you say even a little activity is important, I was told that even getting them to wave was an important exercise for their arm muscles. Emotionally it is draining to be with these people, but its worth it when you see their smiles.
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