If there were a Santa, and if he had elves, they might very well look like the twinkling-eyed team of Morningside Village volunteers who, in the last two weeks, have befriended one of our elders, past her mid-nineties, one with remarkable cognitive powers, who had fallen and badly hurt her back. After visiting the hospital and finding that there were no broken bones, by ambulance, “the system” returned her to her home (of over sixty years) in Morningside Village.
With the remainder of her life’s savings, she was able to find and hire someone to stay with her to provide basic care, but someone who knew little about bed sore prevention, about offering regular opportunities for hydration and about best practices for moving the patient from bed to commode, etc. With severe pain, the elder simply took to her bed over the weeks. There, she became sadly focused on what type of casket she might want and such, for she was sure that the end was days away. That is until a friend gave her our hotline phone number, for underneath, she really didn’t quite like the idea of leaving life, what with spring right around the corner.
Volunteers began visiting this neighbor to learn what we could do to help. The beautiful elder lie on her bed, a pillow tuck under her full head of hair, looking straight up at the ceiling, for it pained her to sit in such a way that she could talk, face to face, with anyone although she could turn her head to the side. When she spoke, her tongue, she said, stuck to the roof of her mouth, so that it wasn’t easy for her to talk. Her face was nearly as white as her hair.
When we saw and heard about the situation at hand, it wasn’t long after that Morningside Village volunteers made sure that she was attended by a social worker and healing professionals right in her own home. And, thanks to them, yesterday three volunteers showed up at 3:00pm, just in time to make ready. They distracted the nonagenarian who, not without pain, sat in her wheelchair, listening to jokes, the color returning to her face. Others temporarily collapsed her bed, the beautifully painted wood one that she’d slept on since she was sixteen years old, over 80 years ago. They rolled up the Persian section-rug and took out the vacuum cleaner; everything was happening according to plan. At 4:00pm the doorbell rang, and in rolled the brand new hospital bed that would allow the patient the ability to sit up in bed while she talks with her visitors and other options during the many weeks that she will be working with professional therapists on recovery right in her own home. She will also be working with volunteers on organizing her paper work, with another on legal matters, with others about nutritious recipes for her to try, and with others in finding appropriate care options, all while making new friends.
Today is the first day of spring for us all! And, it probably won’t be long before our new friend is outside, sniffing the lilacs.
Irene Zola
Tags: aging in place, eldercare, eldercare village, elderly, seniors, visiting doctors, Volunteers
