Recently I followed a little God nudge and started to volunteer with Hosparus. This isn’t something I decided on a whim, but I will say I was surprised at the direction God took me. My experience with this organization left an imprint on me. In June, I committed to being a nursing home companion.
Every Tuesday I go visit my two patients. Both are in the memory care unit and have varying degrees of dementia. I brought an adult coloring book along with a matching card game to engage them. A week ago, I entered the facility, signed in and headed back to the memory care area. I was excited to see my new friends. Once the nurse opened the door, I made a beeline for one of them who was sitting in the common area. (I am not using names since that information is private, so I will refer to one as B and the other J.) I sat down and told B how happy I was to see her. B was excited too. She went on to tell me all kinds of things that were going on. The more she talked the pulse of anxiety crept in and I slowly realized that this was indeed not my patient B. Horrified that I made a mistake, I quickly told her that I would see her later and made my way hurriedly down the hall to J’s room.
I knocked and opened her door to find her lying on the bed, eyes closed with her hands crossed over her chest. Are you fucking kidding me? I am already rethinking putting myself out there. “J, wake up.” Nothing. “J, want to play that matching game you like so much?” I think my voice probably sounded high pitched. I know what I signed up for but I am hoping no one dies on my watch. J shoots up and loudly says, “Well hello there!” Thank God. We chat. It’s limited because she has trouble completing her thoughts, but every once in a while she will say something so lucid that it makes her laugh. Dementia has not robbed her of her sense of humor. We took a stroll down the hall to the common area. I was praying that the woman who I had mistaken for B, has left the area. The space was empty. The universe must be on my side now. J and I sit down to play our matching game. While we played, B came into the room. I know that you all probably don’t trust that I got the right person, but I swear I did. She sat down with us and joined our game. What a relief. I found B and J didn’t die on my watch. It was a good day.
As I was saying goodbye to my new friends, J said to me, “We are all nuts” and stuck her tongue out at me. I reciprocated and we both laughed. I never thought I would feel right at home in the memory care space,but considering how I started the day there, I might request a bed.
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