Okay, I admit it, I was stumped as to what to share with
you this month.
Then I thought “why not go to the source?” So while
visiting an assisted living facility a week ago, I approached a
resident with whom one of our volunteers visits (and I visit, when the
volunteer is not available). The following is our conversation:
Me: Will you help me
write my blog this month? I really need
your help in deciding what to share with people.
After
a discussion as to what a blog is, the conversation proceeded as follows:
Resident: I don't see how I could help.
Me: Let's just try. What advice could you give to someone who is contemplating moving themselves or a loved one to a long-term-care facility?
Resident: (chuckling)
You don’t want to know.
Me (smiling): Well, I
don’t think I explained that properly. Let’s frame this another way. What advantages are there to you living in a
long-term-care facility?
Resident (thoughtfully and after a long pause): Well, they
give me my pills and I don’t have to worry if I am mixed up about them anymore.
And I don’t have to worry about going to a pharmacy to get my pills.
Me: Anything else?
Resident (laughing): They feed me. Sometimes I don’t like
what they cook but I don’t have to worry about how I can get to a grocery store,
let alone cooking it. So that is good.
Then I
couldn’t stop her as she continued:
I feel safer at night living here. I no longer have to
bother someone to take me to the doctor’s office as the doctor comes here. (This
seemed to particularly delight her.) I know if I fall, there is someone to
immediately help me. They do my laundry.
Me: Those are all
good and important things you shared.
Now what would you say are the disadvantages.
Resident: Before I
met the volunteer who visits with me I would sometimes just go to my room and
sit with no one to talk to. So I was lonely.
Me: Well, I have
seen you talk with other residents, the staff, and surely you talk to the
residents sitting with you at the dining table.
Resident (slightly frowning): Well, we talk like “How is
your dinner?” “How are you?”
but………..(she struggled with finding the right word)
Me: Do you mean you
have no in-depth conversations?
Resident: Yes, that
is it.
Me: I don’t want to
lead you, so correct me if I am wrong. Are you saying what you were missing was
a relationship with another person that went beyond the pleasantries. .
Resident: That is it
exactly! Before my personal Betty
Brewer’s Angel volunteer and you, I had no one to really talk to. No real
friends.
Me: You have just
explained so perfectly why Betty Brewer’s Angels was started. Our volunteers provide that kind of
friendship.
Resident: I know all
of you do (and she reached out and patted my hand). Thank you.
Me: No, thank you!!!!! Not only do I treasure my
relationship with you, but you, my dear, have just written my blog for me.
This interview made me
think of how we often
approach situations in our lives with a negative
attitude (and I am not excluding myself here), just like the resident did at first, but
upon reflection and with help from our friends, we can remember and be grateful
for the blessings we do have, turning a negative attitude into a positive one.
All we need is for someone to help bring us to joy.
Do you have a kind and
caring heart? Then you qualify to become
a Betty Brewer’s Angel volunteer! Contact me to learn more about our
organization.
Email www.bettybrewersangels@wowway.com or call me 614-309-4677 with any questions. I would love to hear from you.
