Finding Reason in Delusion and Dementia
I am in no way a medical person. I am just a slob who tries to help improve the quality of life for nursing home residents on a daily basis. And the longer I work at this, the more futile it seems. I mean, is quality of life really bingo games & entertainment? Seems that it would be more related to staying clean and dry and having your hair brushed and your teeth clean, and having choices about what you're going to have for dinner, and having more choices about how you are going to spend your day in a recreational way - not just choosing between bingo at 10 and trivia at 2.
But I digress. The above article has no bearing on my rant. I just found it interesting. I have been working in long term care for many years. And I have seen the changes in our Alz./dementia population as the drugs have changed. & I am not sure if the changes are good or not. Oh, I am sure they are good from a medical stand point. And they make it easier to handle the resident. And some people are so tortured that medicating them is the only viable option. In all fairness, for some people drugs are wonderful things that greatly positively affect quality of life.
But you know, it seems that some of the drugs seem to put the person in a "holding pattern" so to speak. Kind of like part of the mind is blocked off. And the disease does not progress as it normally would. I guess this is a humanitarian attempt at extending quality of life. But.... you know - define quality of life. To me it's not losing everyone I love and losing everything I've worked for and being relegated to half of a room in a cold neutral toned institution. But that's just me. If this were me I think I would want my mind to be free to wander in a great delusional state.
Back in the day, people "window shopped" in the hallways. They chatted with faceless voices. They sang songs in praise of salt and ice cream. They wheeled down the hall barking orders at everyone - giving raises or firing people. One "young" lady went out drinking with the staff every night and would regale us with party stories. They were in their own realities and we had to reach them where they were.
It was challenging & fun. Everyday was like walking into "imagination land."
I am not saying that everyone was happy and pleasant all the time. No. There were quite a few times when I was slapped or my hair was pulled or I was cursed at. But for the most part, my job was enjoyable and challenging filled with conversational jigsaw puzzles. Learning how to ask the right questions, give the proper answers that offered my people solace and peace of mind and (hopefully) helped them feel more content with their surroundings.
Of course, many things were different back then. There were more people on staff, more time to work effectively and to do extra things. There was more of an emphasis placed on creating a home like environment. Now most facilities are really only interested in the slap dash quick cash of rehab.
Often the long termers get lost in the dust. Sad.
I am in no way a medical person. I am just a slob who tries to help improve the quality of life for nursing home residents on a daily basis. And the longer I work at this, the more futile it seems. I mean, is quality of life really bingo games & entertainment? Seems that it would be more related to staying clean and dry and having your hair brushed and your teeth clean, and having choices about what you're going to have for dinner, and having more choices about how you are going to spend your day in a recreational way - not just choosing between bingo at 10 and trivia at 2.
But I digress. The above article has no bearing on my rant. I just found it interesting. I have been working in long term care for many years. And I have seen the changes in our Alz./dementia population as the drugs have changed. & I am not sure if the changes are good or not. Oh, I am sure they are good from a medical stand point. And they make it easier to handle the resident. And some people are so tortured that medicating them is the only viable option. In all fairness, for some people drugs are wonderful things that greatly positively affect quality of life.
But you know, it seems that some of the drugs seem to put the person in a "holding pattern" so to speak. Kind of like part of the mind is blocked off. And the disease does not progress as it normally would. I guess this is a humanitarian attempt at extending quality of life. But.... you know - define quality of life. To me it's not losing everyone I love and losing everything I've worked for and being relegated to half of a room in a cold neutral toned institution. But that's just me. If this were me I think I would want my mind to be free to wander in a great delusional state.
Back in the day, people "window shopped" in the hallways. They chatted with faceless voices. They sang songs in praise of salt and ice cream. They wheeled down the hall barking orders at everyone - giving raises or firing people. One "young" lady went out drinking with the staff every night and would regale us with party stories. They were in their own realities and we had to reach them where they were.
It was challenging & fun. Everyday was like walking into "imagination land."
I am not saying that everyone was happy and pleasant all the time. No. There were quite a few times when I was slapped or my hair was pulled or I was cursed at. But for the most part, my job was enjoyable and challenging filled with conversational jigsaw puzzles. Learning how to ask the right questions, give the proper answers that offered my people solace and peace of mind and (hopefully) helped them feel more content with their surroundings.
Of course, many things were different back then. There were more people on staff, more time to work effectively and to do extra things. There was more of an emphasis placed on creating a home like environment. Now most facilities are really only interested in the slap dash quick cash of rehab.
Often the long termers get lost in the dust. Sad.
wow.....
ReplyDelete