With this blog post comes the end of my volunteer experiences for an entire semester. It was a semester full of new experiences, shifting boundaries, and wonderful memories. I would not trade the time I spent at The Renaissance for anything in the world, I believe I have grown as a person as a result of my endeavors. You wouldn't know it by looking at me, but I can feel the changes. I recognize I've become more accepting, more forgiving, and even more comfortable with myself and those around me.
Older adults can be stubborn and grumpy. They can be slow, difficult to understand, and hard of hearing. They sleep quite a lot and seem to move at their own pace.However, that isn't all there is to them. Through my volunteer experience, I've learned that, despite all the things I said previously, older adults can be some of the most wonderful people in the world. I was pleasantly surprised by many of the residents, and my preconceived notions were blown out of the water. I met some of the funniest, liveliest, most fascinating people I believe I could ever have had the pleasure of knowing. Their life experiences are all different and they each have something to share with the world, even to this day.
Throughout this semester and this class, I've contemplated what I wanted to do in regard to volunteering for an extended period of time. I deliberated within myself, trying to decide if this was something I really wished to continue. I have decided, and volunteering my time to older adults in my community is definitely an experience I wish to continue. There is something so fulfilling to see the smiles on their faces a single visit can bring. I have gained a better understanding of how older adults function and what they need from each of us, and I know we all have a lot to give to each other. Through class, I have learned so much, and I wish to do all I can to benefit the older adults in my community.
So, is this the end of my blog? For a time, yes, it is the end. However, goodbye doesn't have to be forever. In the near future, I will return with new experiences and new stories. I look forward to sharing each and every story with my readers. This may be the end of one chapter, but an entire book still waits to be written. In closing, I would like to thank my professor, Dr. Melancon, and my supervisor, Amber, for allowing me the privilege to work with older adults and to learn so much in such a short time. I feel truly blessed by the experience, and cannot wait to continue in the future.
Sunday, April 29, 2012
4/27/12 - Wrapping Up
This particular Friday was not all that different from the other experiences we've had at The Renaissance. We arrived at 2:30, ready to spend one last day this semester with the residents. Upon arrival, we met a couple of students conducting interviews for their Comp 1 course. After their interviews, they joined us for a few rounds of Pokeno, a game recently added to our repertoire, while our supervisor took a resident to the hospital for lab tests. As soon as the game began, the same issues we'd faced beforehand began to pop up. The ladies couldn't hear well, or couldn't see the cards on their boards clearly.
We pushed through, though, and soon had quite the crowd join us, including a recent new arrival. She was as energetic as I've seen of late, and it was a pleasant surprise. For that matter, I was happy to see one of our favorite residents looking healthier than she had in the previous weeks. On a more sobering note, one of the residents we'd loved from the beginning seemed to be declining quickly.
She is, it seems, in the early stages of dementia, and things are progressing faster than we'd hoped. She was having more trouble remembering who she was, and had more trouble with games than we've ever noticed. It may have just been a bad day. As we discussed in class, people with dementia can have good days and bad days, and I hope it was simply that.
As the clock struck 5:00, we wrapped up our final day of the semester. We cleaned up, said our goodbyes to the residents, and received big hugs from our supervisor. It had been a good day, and I now hope finals week pans out just as pleasantly.
We pushed through, though, and soon had quite the crowd join us, including a recent new arrival. She was as energetic as I've seen of late, and it was a pleasant surprise. For that matter, I was happy to see one of our favorite residents looking healthier than she had in the previous weeks. On a more sobering note, one of the residents we'd loved from the beginning seemed to be declining quickly.
She is, it seems, in the early stages of dementia, and things are progressing faster than we'd hoped. She was having more trouble remembering who she was, and had more trouble with games than we've ever noticed. It may have just been a bad day. As we discussed in class, people with dementia can have good days and bad days, and I hope it was simply that.
As the clock struck 5:00, we wrapped up our final day of the semester. We cleaned up, said our goodbyes to the residents, and received big hugs from our supervisor. It had been a good day, and I now hope finals week pans out just as pleasantly.
Saturday, April 14, 2012
4/10/12 - Quite a Shock
Thus far, my posts have been rather upbeat and somewhat positive when they could be. However, this particular day at The Renaissance was not the most pleasant. As soon as we'd arrived and entered the library where our supervisor was waiting, an ambulance and some paramedics arrived to handle a situation with one resident. Ms. H., as she will be known, was having heart problems. Her heart had stopped, and the adrenaline the paramedics administered didn't seem to kick-start it as they'd hoped. She was rushed to the hospital, while her husband stayed behind at the direction of their daughter. Never away from her side, he was certainly not in the best of moods because of it.
If this wasn't enough, one of the oldest residents at The Renaissance seems to be getting physically weaker. She looks more gaunt than usual, is tired much more often, and seems exhausted by the simplest things. Her watcher, Ms. W., didn't comment on it, but you could just feel a bit of a heavy veil over the room, no matter how much Ms. N tried to keep everyone positive and happy. All the goings-on of this day really caused my volunteer partner and I to acknowledge the fact that these women were getting further away from us in regard to their health. Truly fitting, as we'd discussed death and dying in two previous lectures. I began to consider how the other women would feel if they lost one of their own, especially after seeing one carted away on a stretcher. One thing is for sure, things at The Renaissance are changing. As the semester's end approaches, I am anxious to see how things turn out.
If this wasn't enough, one of the oldest residents at The Renaissance seems to be getting physically weaker. She looks more gaunt than usual, is tired much more often, and seems exhausted by the simplest things. Her watcher, Ms. W., didn't comment on it, but you could just feel a bit of a heavy veil over the room, no matter how much Ms. N tried to keep everyone positive and happy. All the goings-on of this day really caused my volunteer partner and I to acknowledge the fact that these women were getting further away from us in regard to their health. Truly fitting, as we'd discussed death and dying in two previous lectures. I began to consider how the other women would feel if they lost one of their own, especially after seeing one carted away on a stretcher. One thing is for sure, things at The Renaissance are changing. As the semester's end approaches, I am anxious to see how things turn out.
Friday, April 6, 2012
3/30/12 - Shamrock Shakes & Pokeno!
The 30th of March was quite a taxing day, both for us and some of the residents, but we all made it. After having worked for a University-related event late into the night, my friend and I awoke and attended class before heading off to volunteer. Upon our arrival, one of the residents was having a breakdown. She thought her family abandoned her, after they visited and she didn't go home with them. It was difficult to see an older adult in such a state, my heart went out to her.
Not to be deterred by an interruption, however, we began a game of Pokeno for the waiting women (they become incredibly impatient, if you recall). It was apparent, as we played, the women were having trouble hearing one of the volunteers, a woman as well. This makes sense because, according to class, hearing of higher pitches goes before lower pitches as one ages. Eventually, I took over and the game went along more smoothly.
The problems with senses didn't stop there. Shortly after, we gave them green shakes in celebration of March and St. Patrick's Day. We played a game they call "word mining" in which they attempted to create different words from a category word. We began with "St. Patrick's Day," and that is when more problems arose. Every few minutes, we would hear "I can't see the board well." We attempted to adjust it as best as possible, but every move made it harder for someone else to see. This correlates with what we learned in class concerning eyesight in late adulthood - vision tends to begin to degrade. They had difficulty with contrasting colors, in particular.
Overall, problems included, this was a great day for volunteering and another wonderful experience. I look forward to finishing out the semester on a good note, however long that takes.
Not to be deterred by an interruption, however, we began a game of Pokeno for the waiting women (they become incredibly impatient, if you recall). It was apparent, as we played, the women were having trouble hearing one of the volunteers, a woman as well. This makes sense because, according to class, hearing of higher pitches goes before lower pitches as one ages. Eventually, I took over and the game went along more smoothly.
The problems with senses didn't stop there. Shortly after, we gave them green shakes in celebration of March and St. Patrick's Day. We played a game they call "word mining" in which they attempted to create different words from a category word. We began with "St. Patrick's Day," and that is when more problems arose. Every few minutes, we would hear "I can't see the board well." We attempted to adjust it as best as possible, but every move made it harder for someone else to see. This correlates with what we learned in class concerning eyesight in late adulthood - vision tends to begin to degrade. They had difficulty with contrasting colors, in particular.
Overall, problems included, this was a great day for volunteering and another wonderful experience. I look forward to finishing out the semester on a good note, however long that takes.
Friday, March 9, 2012
3/2/12 - Flying Solo
Friday the 2nd was an interesting day for volunteering. Our supervisor was on vacation through the entire week, and we were charged with taking care of our volunteering all by ourselves - from setting things up to putting them away at the end of our shift. As usual, we played hangman with the ladies at The Renaissance, this time around the topic was St. Patrick's Day. It was a very fun-filled afternoon, and the ladies also learned a lot from the two of us.
During the game, I was able to notice how the older adults' episodic and semantic memory worked in comparison to ours. As we were taught in class, their episodic memory is very much still strong. Their semantic memory was actually really amazing. They had really good memory for some of the things surrounding St. Patrick's Day, though not all of them, was really outstanding.
Overall, it was a really wonderful day and I was glad to spend some time with the ladies of The Renaissance.
During the game, I was able to notice how the older adults' episodic and semantic memory worked in comparison to ours. As we were taught in class, their episodic memory is very much still strong. Their semantic memory was actually really amazing. They had really good memory for some of the things surrounding St. Patrick's Day, though not all of them, was really outstanding.
Overall, it was a really wonderful day and I was glad to spend some time with the ladies of The Renaissance.
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
2/24/12 - Ice Cream Social
The 24th of February was the final day of the month for our volunteers, with March ringing in a new month full of experiences. On that day, we worked with our supervisor to host an event we'd been looking forward to all month, an ice cream social. To our surprise, the event didn't run as smoothly as we'd hoped. One would be surprised how demanding older adults can be when it comes to ice cream. If we took our eyes off them, or if they thought we were ignoring them, they'd be shouting in our direction until we stopped what we were doing to handle whatever situation for which they needed assistance. I was shocked to hear our supervisor normally conducted the entire ice cream social by herself!
After serving their ice cream, we brought the white board out and prepared to play Hangman again. During this game, I was able to pick up on some cognitive differences among older adults and younger adults which we discussed on February 13th. First of all, I noticed some differences in speed of processing. According to lecture, speed of processing peaks at the age of 25 and begins to wane thereafter. I definitely noticed this decline, as it took many of the residents much longer than it would have taken me to process what our supervisor was saying.
There were other things I noticed concerning several of the residents cognitive limitations. One resident, in particular, exhibited behavior which made me think of inhibition of cognition. When asked to guess a letter for the hangman puzzle, she covered her eyes while she considered what letter she'd choose. This made me think she may have had difficulty filtering out distractions in her environment.
This day, in particular, allowed me to thoroughly examine the older adults at The Renaissance and make mental notes about their cognitive abilities. It gave me ample time to draw conclusions regarding how they differ from me cognitively, which allowed me to strengthen connections between what I've learned in class and what I'm able to observe in the real world.
After serving their ice cream, we brought the white board out and prepared to play Hangman again. During this game, I was able to pick up on some cognitive differences among older adults and younger adults which we discussed on February 13th. First of all, I noticed some differences in speed of processing. According to lecture, speed of processing peaks at the age of 25 and begins to wane thereafter. I definitely noticed this decline, as it took many of the residents much longer than it would have taken me to process what our supervisor was saying.
There were other things I noticed concerning several of the residents cognitive limitations. One resident, in particular, exhibited behavior which made me think of inhibition of cognition. When asked to guess a letter for the hangman puzzle, she covered her eyes while she considered what letter she'd choose. This made me think she may have had difficulty filtering out distractions in her environment.
This day, in particular, allowed me to thoroughly examine the older adults at The Renaissance and make mental notes about their cognitive abilities. It gave me ample time to draw conclusions regarding how they differ from me cognitively, which allowed me to strengthen connections between what I've learned in class and what I'm able to observe in the real world.
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
2/18/12 - Bingo!
Saturday morning brought on another day for volunteering. My friend and I showed up at 10 a.m. ready to dive in and get to work. Upon arrival, our supervisor introduced us to another student and then began to show us some other things in the facility. We learned how to make announcements over the intercom (something I still don't quite know how to do) and gathered up some new equipment for us - the bingo supplies.
While gathering supplies, we ran into a resident, who I'll call Miss J, who had come down for coffee. At least, that's what we thought she had come down to get. It turns out she had come down to "play with the men." Upon hearing this, all four of us began to snicker and smile. She definitely changed my views on older adults not having much of a romantic life. So much for stereotypes, eh?
On that note, another stereotype I've seen disproved multiple times at The Renaissance is the stereotype that older adults are grumpy "old farts." This could not be further from the truth, at least in the assisted living facility. My friend and I were charged with gathering up a few of the ladies - the men were already in the dining room having coffee - to play trivia and, eventually, bingo. The women we encountered could not have been happier. They had smiles on their faces and were absolutely thrilled to see us and to spend time with us again.
Another stereotype I witnessed being disproved Saturday was the stereotype that older adults are frail or slow. When we adjourned to prepare bingo, we had to make sure we were ahead of the women for fear of being run down by the stampede. These ladies were serious about their bingo - I was stared down a few times when my calling was just a bit too slow. Volunteering, my previous views of the older adult population are continually being challenged and changed for the better. Each week brings new experiences, new knowledge, and new insight into the lives of the older adults at Renaissance.
While gathering supplies, we ran into a resident, who I'll call Miss J, who had come down for coffee. At least, that's what we thought she had come down to get. It turns out she had come down to "play with the men." Upon hearing this, all four of us began to snicker and smile. She definitely changed my views on older adults not having much of a romantic life. So much for stereotypes, eh?
On that note, another stereotype I've seen disproved multiple times at The Renaissance is the stereotype that older adults are grumpy "old farts." This could not be further from the truth, at least in the assisted living facility. My friend and I were charged with gathering up a few of the ladies - the men were already in the dining room having coffee - to play trivia and, eventually, bingo. The women we encountered could not have been happier. They had smiles on their faces and were absolutely thrilled to see us and to spend time with us again.
Another stereotype I witnessed being disproved Saturday was the stereotype that older adults are frail or slow. When we adjourned to prepare bingo, we had to make sure we were ahead of the women for fear of being run down by the stampede. These ladies were serious about their bingo - I was stared down a few times when my calling was just a bit too slow. Volunteering, my previous views of the older adult population are continually being challenged and changed for the better. Each week brings new experiences, new knowledge, and new insight into the lives of the older adults at Renaissance.
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