Visitors make a difference. I visited my friend in LTC and saw this woman on her way back to her room after dinner. It is a lovely residence, if you are unable to cook, clean and manage ADLs for yourself. There is laughter and love, despite underfunding in this government-run institution. I visit weekly. I wrote about Michele in my book, and she is so proud. I am going to help her write her obituary this week. She is planning her funeral.
Sometimes you just have to laugh. A belated birthday present for the old guy. He can even sing the whole Mickey Mouse song. Watch for it on YouTube! :-)
Love makes the world go around. A mentor and her client show their expressive art theme.
It is best to hold someone's hand.
In fact the photos were taken at The Hospice Youth Expressive Arts Grief & Loss Recovery Program, facilitated by Elke Scholz.
One young girl made a representation of herself and her mentor in the photo below. We were so moved. Such a simple means by which we honour our clients and recognize how important therapy is for a child.
12 comments:
Does make me realize how much I have to be thankful for and quickly stuffs a sock in my mouth when I think "oh poor me, getting old". Thanks for the reminder. Have to admit though, it looks as though they have a good place to be!
Enjoy your week!
Sylvia
It is good for people to be connected.
I particularly like your last shot. The little people look so cheerful.
Such a heart-warming post!
you certainly made me laugh with that man's hat and gloves
That's a beautiful post and I had some comments in my mind, but I read Sylvia's comment just above as the comment form was loading and -- (as my grandchildren would say) "what she said"!
Thank you for sharing.
Such a touching post Jenn. I have been spending time with Betty who has been placed in the hospital to die. She has Alziemers and her dedicated partner is taking a little breather so the community is picking up the slack. She is a remarkable woman and the staff at our tiny(4 bed) hospital are amazing. Thank you for sharing experiences many of us would chose to ignore.
I love the "old man's" get up!!
Smiles and blessings to you Jenn.
We have a similar issue in our town and the town's regular volunteers have been giving care. I tell my daughter: pop me on the raft and shove me into the lake when I get there!
I suffered caregiver burnout with my parents and understand the stress. I wrote about it in my book, and still write about it at Ontario Seniors .
Touching post Jenn Jilks. Thanks,
A very nice post and the photos are wonderful.
A very thought provoking post. We don't have such a nice facility here in Powell River. We are hoping to get funding to replace our care unit soon. - Margy
I, too, suffered caregiver burnout nursing my Mom at the end... It's brutal, and leaves lasting guilt. No matter how much I did, it was never, could never be, enough... at least in my eyes!
Happier note -- I LOVE the photo of the snow clouds over the lake! You'd better not be on your raft just yet!!!
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