As a nurse in a long term care facility, I get a variety of reactions when I tell people where I work. These vary from “ I could never work there!” to “You must be a saint to do that kind of work” and my personal favorite: “I can’t stand being around old people. They’re creepy!”
In my experience, people who claim to be creeped out by old people, usually suffer from a morbid fear of growing old themselves. They just can’t picture themselves as the old man in the wheelchair, or the old woman with dementia calling the cat that isn’t really there. I think the same thing goes for people that say they could never work with the elderly, or think that just being able to do the job automatically qualifies one for sainthood. Being around the elderly reminds us all that we will grow old too.
I have often encouraged the families of my patients to bring in old photographs to display in the patients room. I think it helps the staff connect with the patient when they can see that Mrs. Smith was not always the crazy lady with Alzheimer’s in room 200, but was once a young vivacious woman who could have stopped traffic with her looks. It helps to see that Mr. Jones, who doesn’t talk and has to be fed was once a buff handsome young soldier who made it home from Korea in one piece. It helps to see that the elderly couple sitting in the day room holding hands were once young and beautiful, and would stay out dancing all night, never dreaming that in 50 years, she would be unable to move or speak, and he would have to come see her in a nursing home every day.
I saw this posted on Boing Boing today, and wanted to share it. Someone found a cosmetic case filled with photos of a woman from the age of about 2 or so all the way into her 40s or 50s. She’d be in her 70s today, almost 80 in fact. I hope she’s still living life on her own terms, but if not, I hope she has people taking care of her that see her as a full person, with a past, present and future, and not just as the “cranky old lady in room 200” Click on the photograph to see the rest of them.
UPDATE: More Pictures HERE Check the posting dated Sept. 2, 2007.
