tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4400013362999368442.post5851827134645323121..comments2023-04-27T07:33:42.843-07:00Comments on The Unplugged Family: Into the hands of the lonely...Cassandrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06929231009510772743noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4400013362999368442.post-67185038071189016792012-06-10T07:48:06.273-07:002012-06-10T07:48:06.273-07:00I have worked as a nurse in nursing homes for the ...I have worked as a nurse in nursing homes for the last 12 years, 9 of them as a director. There are good and bad in nursing homes, just as in everything else, you're right. But without fail, 99% of the employees in nursing homes love their people. <br><br>Friday, a man rolled up to me, "Girl, talk to me. I'm lonely." I hear that a lot and usually spend a few minutes visiting and go back to work. Today, we went outside and sat. Him in his wheelchair, me on the ground. He was in the timber business; his wife (also my patient) died a month ago. They were married 62 years. He wishes his granddaughter would stay longer when she visited.<br><br>The point? Sometimes what we think we need to do for someone is right; sometimes people just want our presence to be sung to, or watch tv, or sit outside. Just keep going. And try not to view nursing homes as tragically sad; we don't. Because the people in nursing homes don't change; they just get older. The funny are still funny. The mean are still mean. The spiritual are still spiritual. The gossips are still gossipy....it is most days poignant, funny, and sobering all at the same time. And everyone is welcome. Kudos to anyone.who visits. Keep doing it!mercychangedmomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17926282208462045188noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4400013362999368442.post-18425993810100877122012-06-06T11:11:31.720-07:002012-06-06T11:11:31.720-07:00Thank you ladies. MrsP - I understand where you a...Thank you ladies. MrsP - I understand where you are coming from with this, but I just don't see sitting alone and wishing you could just feel the sun on your face as a 'natural conclusion'. I see it as our world's selfish conclusion. These people are left alone in homes where they largely do not want to be. Of course there are wonderful homes and some seniors are so ill it is necessary, but not all. I think many nursing homes are ugly and we can't ignore the reality of what goes on behind many closed doors. I believe there are many gifts to old age, yes. But I also believe many of our precious seniors are being robbed of these very gifts. Blessings.Cassandrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06929231009510772743noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4400013362999368442.post-57787304244421567002012-06-06T04:48:29.692-07:002012-06-06T04:48:29.692-07:00Some reflections regarding this:Did you notice you...Some reflections regarding this:<br>Did you notice your elderly friends skin? So fine, and soft, isn't it? It is a gift of old age.<br>And, we are dying, too, but in this place, we see dying's natural conclusion. It is a gift of old age.<br>Yes, visit your friend and sit in the sun with her, but it's OK to watch TV sometimes, too. Perspective and balance. They are gifts of old age.<br>In the end, nursing homes are not ugly, they are beautiful. We watch people poised, standing patiently in their last door. It is a gift of old age.<br>I heard once that Raymond Burr, wheelchair bound and confined to his home during his final illness, when asked what he did with his days, say that he spent them watching his lemon trees grow. A gift of old age.<br>Visiting from Women Living Well.MrsPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12736685999963791015noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4400013362999368442.post-55265006542436386232012-06-05T18:38:28.737-07:002012-06-05T18:38:28.737-07:00Thank you. I visited the nursing home and stopped...Thank you. I visited the nursing home and stopped last February when I lost my heart-friend, Esther Avalee King. I will go back again, thanks to your post. :') I remember, so thank you.Mandyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03934853523191060750noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4400013362999368442.post-25931898490693588962012-06-05T14:13:31.629-07:002012-06-05T14:13:31.629-07:00This is beautifully written. I have had similar e...This is beautifully written. I have had similar experiences and I commend you for holding yourself together. A friend of mine has been admitted to an elderly care home because she now has alzheimers. It's such a terrible disease. My husband and I (and kids too) go and visit her and I cry the whole time. Literally. If it wasn't for my hubby I would just be sitting there, holding my friends hand, and crying. Reality is hard, especially when you see and experience the lonely and afflicted. I do hope you go back and visit that lovely lady. And thank you for sharing your heart. Lord bless!Noël McNeilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15676325186985262356noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4400013362999368442.post-56514286017102961032012-06-05T11:26:39.213-07:002012-06-05T11:26:39.213-07:00I sit here as tears just stream down my face...how...I sit here as tears just stream down my face...how many times have I thought about doing what you did...just visiting our elderly with my boys...please let us go with the next time you go. Not that I think I have anything to offer (I don't,) but I want to be present. Thank you for sharing this...love you!<br>Jenny SmithJenny Smithnoreply@blogger.com