It seems that I have been a blogging bum. I have so much to update on, so here goes. Ruth ended up being put in a memory care facility. It is so hard when I go visit her, because her damaged brain associates me with her house, and it upsets her because she wants to go home and die in the house that she lived in for over eighty years. You see, she has cyclical dementia. That means that her mind simply cannot process and retain information that is given to her; pain that she feels is a new experience every time, people that she just met become complete strangers, and happy memories that her family works so hard to build with her are lost to her brain. I pray for her often, hoping that the Lord will ease her burdened mind. It is absolutely devastating to see people from her generation being shuffled around, constantly taking a back seat to the bigger issues. I can only take comfort in the efforts of those that I work with, those who are willing to take the less glamorous job in order to make a much greater impact.
Now that I've moved on from Ruth, work has been really challenging. I haven't been able to put down any firm roots with any one client. My company is really great, but there are only so many clients and the nature of my job is such that client turnover is high - they die, get sick, and all too often get put into some kind of care facility. So -- I've had four or five clients since Ruth, all with dementia or Alzheimer's. My current client's name is Olive. She's such a kick in the pants! First off, she has cyclical dementia. Second, she has some serious neurological damage from an accident that she had a while ago, and now she cannot taste anything but sweets. This presents a huge challenge when trying to get her to eat anything, because anything that is good for her, ie meats, vegetables, etc... taste like a warm compote. Because of this, she gets all her nutrition through a tube, and anything else that she eats is just for pleasure. Imagine my surprise walking into a home with a pantry that had 10 each of the following: Orange Jello, Oreo cookies, and tortilla chips. In her fridge was a gallon of milk, and her tubes of nutritional supplements. Since I am a live in caregiver, families are required to provide all the food for me. Olive's daughter, Valerie went out and got me some healthy food like peaches and carrots and chicken breasts and such. Well Ollie and I went to bed, but I was awoken at about four AM to a strange sound outside. I went to go and check on her in her room, but she wasn't there! I shuffled my way into the kitchen and found Olive on her deck, throwing all of the fresh new food over her deck and into the gully!! She was saying how we didn't need any of this crap in her house; I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Olive also sometimes thinks that her house is a prison and that I am the prison guard. She tried to sneak out of the house ALL THE TIME!! I can't even go to the bathroom without her running off. I sleep in an air mattress in her hallway because otherwise she'll sneak out to her road in the middle of the night. Let's just say that I really am earning my keep with this client. :) Despite all her crazy antics, I still think she's one of the cutest old ladies that I know. You know that picture of the nurse and the sailor kissing that is used to depict the end of the war?? Ollie thinks that that is her! She has hundreds of versions of that picture, she's been to the monument in San Diego, and she has a wax version of it in her living room. She tells me all about how happy she was when her Frankie came home. (I never mention that she doesn't have blond hair, or that she never was a nurse... I just smile and nod)
Well people, I hope you've enjoyed my little essay...I'll write another one in a couple of months.
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