April 22, 2009

• Without sounding too hokey...

  Sometimes I find it a real privilege to work with the elderly in the nursing home.  I always remember that they are real people and simply want to be treated with dignity and respect.  Evidently I do it well as several of the patients I treat have told my supervisor that they like me.  I guess my manner is more pleasant than not!

  Yesterday, I was doing morning washing and dressing with an older lady.  She wears a wig and it was her day to change her old wig to a fresh wig.  The process of reaching up and taking out her bobby pins and combing out her sparse hair was exhausting to her.  Not only that, but her hands were shaking so badly that it added quite a bit to her difficulty.  She explained to me how she usually braided her hair and then pinned it up to be under the wig but that she wasn't going to do it because it was too much work.

  I offered to help her and braid her hair and pin it up (Just an aside, professionally speaking, we'll likely add hair maintenance to her goal list, but yesterday she was tired and we had done lots of work already so I was willing to help her with it.).  I braided her hair and handed her bobby pins so that she could get it just so.  We then pinned up the loose wisps.  After she carefully combed out her wig, she put it on and looked as good as new.

  Something about the whole process felt very humbling to me.  Perhaps it was seeing her wig-less and at her very barest essential self.   Maybe it was how honest she was in her actions and discussion of her hair/wig routine.  I'm not really sure what....but it felt like an honor to be helping this woman.

  Not only that, but she kept thanking me profusely.  She even said, "God bless you." 

  It is a reminder to me of how important the work I do is...Not just to the physical self of the patient, but to the emotions and spirits of the person.  I hope that I can always see each patient as a person first and as a patient to be treated second.  If I can always remember that, I think I will be a pretty good COTA.

  • 5:32 am
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