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.