location: Nursing home

It was seven in the morning when I  first walked through the door. You can smell the fresh bake muffins and coffee, it smelled like as if you were walking into a Starbucks. The place was extremely warm. It felt like sitting in front of an open fireplace on a cold winter night. The atmosphere was very peaceful and so different compared to nursing homes I’ve visited in my younger years. The setup was like a college dorm/frat house. The walls were white with beautiful pictures of flowers and old buildings. There were also pictures of the owners, managers and staff. All the floors were tile except for the living room. The living room had this lovely burgundy carpet with brown sofas, a television, a radio playing jazz music on low, end tables and one seated chairs for residents who prefer to sit by themselves. The staff were very professional and welcoming. Any questions concerning the residents and establishment were answered. Like where the hand wash room was because you had to wash your hands after every client and before you walk around the facility due to germs. They also showed us where to get clean towel, blankets, toiletries and whatever else it was that was needed to care for the residents. They addressed the residents by Mr. or  Ms. or by the name the residents preferred to be called by. The staff were also very patient with the residents. Some residents are hot tempered especially when requesting for things they are not allowed to have so you have to be very patient with them and know how to handle the situation. The staff did an awesome job when those situation did occur by using reinforcements that usually work with the resident. I arrived there right before it was time to serve the clients breakfast. So we had to get them ready for their busy day. Some residents preferred to just eat in their rooms and while others enjoyed to eat inside of the dinning room. There was a few residents who knew how to get themselves ready for breakfast. The only assistants they needed was for staff to get them the wash bucket and other toiletries then they were good to go. Then there was the clients who needed help with washing up and getting dress. We called them residents instead of clients because the nursing home was home for most of them.

I will always remember this one particular resident (MR. A). He was new to the facility he came in overnight so just like me everything was new to him. We had a connection right away, in some ways he reminded me of my grandpa. He had these blue and grayish eyes just like him and his hair cut was exactly like my grandpas bald in the middle with hair on the sides of his head and in the back. He also had a great sense of humor but the one thing he had most was that same smile the smile that will make you want to smile just because he’s smiling at you. We talked for awhile and even though I had other patients to work on I just wanted to spend the whole day with him. I notice that no one else really paid him any attention maybe that’s why I cared so much to give him that attention. He didn’t join the others in the dining room so I made sure he got his breakfast after we spent half the morning grooming and bonding.

There was another resident who was Irish and Indian. She was one of the residents you had to groom and give a bed bath to because she was not able to wash herself. She had this beautiful long soft hair that felt like cotton and you can just sit there and brush it for hours. She talked about where her ancestors were from which was Ireland mostly. She also spoke about how her sister is the only family she has left. She was on top of her beauty products she joked about making sure she looked good for the men in the residence. She had such a great sense of humor. That was one the best part of the visit everyone had a personality that you can just fall in love in. Great sense of humor

Walking into the crowded dinning room felt like I was walking through a high school cafeteria (Without all the wild behavior). You had your table with the very talkative group of folks that talked about any and everything from knitting blankets to the proper way to making a shepherds pie. Then you had your table with some guys talking about sports and jeopardy, then there was the don’t eat meat table. The table with wallets full of pictures with their grandchildren. Then there were just a bunch of quite tables of people who just didn’t want to interact. There was also residents who wanted what was on someone else plate but couldn’t have it due to there diet. There was definitely a couple of attitudes because of that reason but it never got out of control. Some residents weren’t able to eat certain types of meat due to not having teeth if given the wrong plate of food there’s a huge possibility that they can choke. So you had to be very caution to not make that type of mistake.I enjoyed listening to the war stories and people talk about their grandchildren. I cant forget the residents who talked about stores and markets that’s been closed down for years like Ames, Bradley’s, and Woolworths. I even told one of the residents that those stores were closed but she told me that they cant be closed because she was just there yesterday.( which she wasn’t) but of course I didn’t dare tell her she was wrong.

There were a lot of residents there for different reasons, such as they have no family or they do and their family doesn’t want to be bothered with them(which I think is just sad). Then you have the residents who do have family but put them in the home because they’re not able to look out for them the way they need to be looked out for. But throughout all of those reason none of it matter because they made friends amongst each other and grew to know one another very well. Some residents can tell you who will want to be bother with certain things and who will not. Things such as activities or even watching television in the day room. It was beautiful the way they looked out for one another and knew the likes and dislikes of the other residents in the facility. There were these to residents who treated each other like sisters. They constantly checked on one another and made sure that each other was ok and that one another ate. If one of them needed something the other one will make sure she got it ASAP. It was a beautiful thing to see two strangers have that type of compassion in their friendship.

There was also residents who weren’t staying there for long. They were only staying there to recover from the hospital like my guy (MR.A)or a different situation. Then there were the ones who was in there for the long run. You was able to spot most of them out because they were the ones who rooms were set up like it was their actual home. their rooms had flowers, drawings, different curtains from the rest of the rooms with matching bedspreads. Some had little flat screen televisions. pictures of their families hanging all around their rooms and the best part is they didn’t have to share with anyone. Not all but most I guess that was for the residents who paid good money for that type of luxury. Then the rooms for people who were just there to recover was very plain with white walls, a dresser with a television on top and a bed. All the rooms had bathrooms and most of the showers had chair for the residents to have a seat while they wash.

The warmth feeling you get from being around the residents is very hard to come by these days. You can get lost in a place like that and wouldn’t even care because your going to be surrounded around a bunch of lovely and caring people, including the staff. There’s so much for them to do there and its such a comfortable place to be if your not allowed to live on your own anymore. The activities they have for the residents such as arts and crafts, dinning hall for them to eat, living room for dancing or to watch television. They even have certain days where they take the residents out to go shopping. Which I think is the best perk of them all. Oh and we cant forget the set-up outside its so relaxing. It was like a page in a home makeover magazine. Fresh cut grass, plenty of places to sit. A little pond. This residence was just peaceful. There was even a smoking area for the residents and staff who smoked.

The hardest part of the visiting this nursing home was leaving. You meet these people and just like that they have this hold on you where you want to know them forever. These people walked the earth, fought wars, did marches, all so we can be where we are today. Spending the past three days with these wonderful people who all come from different backgrounds, and are in this nursing home for different reasons. But they are all the same kind, sweet, joyful, beautiful souls. Being around folks like them and the establishment made me understand the beauty of volunteering more. I say that because people work at places like that for money. Interning or volunteering in that establishment will make you leave feeling great.. You’d wouldn’t care if you didn’t get paid to be there. You will just love and enjoy being in their presence and help out any way that I can. On my last day there my favorite guy (MR. A) I went to tell him that I was leaving and wont be coming back because my internship was up. He just looked at me and said please don’t leave as tears rolled down his eyes. I would never forget that moment we had I felt happy and sad at the same time. Happy because I know that I made an impact on someone’s life in only three days and sad because I couldn’t do what he requested. I gave him what felt like a ten minute hug and told him not to worry I will see him again. As for the other residents they waiting for us in the dinning hall and they all said good bye to us and thanked us at the same time. It was beautiful moment and experience one could never forget.