Dimple's Discoveries

Nov. 21-1 1/2 hrs I got to the facility today where the activities director informed me that she had a meeting and other jobs to attend to, so I would be running bingo by myself today! Hurray for me! :) So I gathered the needed supplies and awkwardly carried them all to the main building, started setting up and going door to door. Every single patient I asked in the main building turned me down, and then the panic was setting in. 'What if no one comes?' I finish off the hallway, and go wait uncomfortably in the lobby, occasionally asking staff where the microphone, etc are located. Suddenly, in through the front doors comes this swarm of patients, and then the side hallway floods with wheelchairs and walkers, and then another horrifying thought hits me: 'I don't know how to run this game!' This facility has a specific method of doing bingo: four 'normal' bingos, four corners, the daily 'special', and then blackout. The trouble is that I don...

Nov. 18 th - 2 hrs I was helping with bingo again today, but got started by running a couple errands for the activities director and cleaning up lunch with the CNAs. We also got to go door to door to pick up the patients, which was so satisfying, it felt like I was back at work again, doing what I love. J The faces were different, but the feeling is the same. Anyways, we got everyone and started playing, and one of the gentlemen sitting next to me started flirting with me, and it was hilarious! The other patients at the table started talking about how he proposes to a girl a day. He was a charmer, it was funny! We had a lot of good laughs during today’s game, between my messing up on the numbers and the gentleman I was helping telling the same stories over and over, we had a great time.

Nov. 16 th -45 minutes I started out this trip with a less than pleasant attitude today, it had been such a long day, and the day was only half over, and when I got there I was informed that we would be doing ROM exercises (Range of Motion) and manicures. We went to the Alzheimer’s unit, and that was special. Most were asleep when we came in, it was right after lunch time, and so we offered our services to the few just finishing up their lunch. One sweet little patient had just set down her fork, we started her exercises, and all she did was smile at me while I helped her move. I hadn’t realized how much they are starved for attention, especially in that building. I had never noticed it from that perspective. I’ve always been the caregiver, busily running from one patient to the next. I have never been able to slow down enough at work to see it as clearly as I did today.I left feeling a lot better, not only about coming, but about myself and what I can contribute. Some days I feel ...