Admitting a loved one into a long-term nursing home is probably one of the hardest decisions a person has to take. In many cases the debate about nursing homes is fierce.
Families do it for a multitude of reasons. The biggest of which is that the aging senior can no longer live by themselves. They need constant supervision from a skilled medical and para-medical stuff due to health issues. We’re all aware of the general opinion regarding nursing facilities, and an elder’s aversion towards them. However, what do the seniors really think about nursing homes?
We at Happy Seniors have provided a perspective of some seniors to
the debate about nursing homes. Read on to find out two true stories of Carol Hathaway and Emily Gardener. As they talk about their lives after being admitted to a full time nursing home.
The Story of Carol
Carol, 85 years old, was admitted to Rosenfield Senior Home ten years ago. After a devastating fall left her body paralyzed from the waist down, her family made the decision of full time care. Leaving behind her home was in no way easy. But she made her peace with the decision after seeing the everyday struggles her family underwent to take care of her.
After arriving though, Carol was quite pleasantly surprised. First of all, there was no indication of the “smell” that apparently existed in nursing homes; Rosenfield was as clean as their house. She had been scared of going into an entirely new environment and having to live there for who knew how long.
It turned out that the seniors didn’t just sit around all day staring out windows as she had feared; the inhabitants of Rosenfield were all kept busy with their very own tasks. Gardening, sewing, painting, and even cooking: they each had something to keep busy and throughout the day. Even though she still missed home, her family was never very far. Carol began to find her place in the community. She felt especially happy at no longer having to trouble her loved ones.
The Story of Emily
In some ways, 75 year old Emily’s story was not much different. Inflicted with dementia two years ago, she had been cared for her by her eldest daughter for one year before coming to Rosenfield. Emily wasn’t very good at remembering short-term memories; but, her memories of her days as a carefree youth were still clear in her mind. She liked talking about them and was happy to share her story with us.
Emily worked as the chef in a restaurant for 40 solid years before age forced her into retirement; she was already living with her beautiful daughter when the diagnosis came. When Clare had to quit her job to take care of her mother, Emily first began to look through the brochures of Rosenfield. She would never be willing to burden herself on her daughter who still had a long life ahead of her worth living.
Emily was still upset though on moving day; leaving was never easy. Clare came to visit every week, and still did so even a year later. Emily needs a nurse’s full time support now for her meds and supervision. The funny thing was… in the past year, the change that had at first made her unhappy, had turned into her greatest source of joy. Most of the nurses felt like a daughter to her. And there were others she could talk to if she wanted; no one forced her to do anything she didn’t want to do. The other residents were all like family now and she loved staying with them.