Day Twenty

Friday was a very hectic but also humorous day. I stationed myself by Audrey and Mary for the majority of the morning. While I sat there, a nice lady came in to do a horticulture lesson with the residents. We made a big, long table for everyone to sit at together. We laid down newspaper, gave everyone a bin and filled them up a little bit with some dirt. Everyone got pots and was told how to plant their plants. At this point, everything was going well. That was until a nurse looked over and saw this man Steve eating the dirt. She ran over and said "Steve stop! You can't eat the dirt! Spit it out!" Then he proceeded to say "Well why the hell not!" This made us all laugh a bit. Steve is a very laid back guy who keeps to himself most of the time. However, try and take his food away and he will get very angry. The nurses did get him to spit it out and rinse so everything was going well again. Then this other lady started to eat the dirt. Only when she was asked to spit it out, she did. But the thing was, she took it upon herself to spit it out on this lady Rose I work with. She wore a pretty yellow skirt to work that day and it had dirt all over it at that point. We felt bad but she was laughing so we all started laughing. Lesson learned, don't take "food" away from Steve and don't wear nice clothes to Woodcrest.

Day Nineteen

Thursday was yet another great day. Despite the rain, we had a lot of fun with the residents. To shake it up a bit, we lined residents up in rows rather than a circle and put an aerobics video on. I was surprised at how many residents got excited and involved in the exercises. I guess it was because it was something different to their daily routine. Thursday was also a bit upsetting because I learned that one of the residents on my floor, Eva, had passed away early in the morning. It was very strange because she was talking and acting fine most of Wednesday. Then I find out that she's gone. It's weird that one day someone could feel great and act fine, but then the next their gone. I guess that’s just a part of the job though. That’s probably why they told us in the beginning not to get too attached to the residents, because when their time does come, it’s hard to let go.

Day Eighteen

Wednesday was a great day. I enjoyed every bit of it with both the residents and the people I work with. We shared lots of good laughs and let the majority of the residents go outside because it was a beautiful day. The others that weren't capable of going outside stayed in and we did some exercises with weights for a change. I also made an amazing discover on Wednesday. Lydia is usually one of the difficult residents when it comes to behavior. However, if you cover her with her white blanket, she almost automatically falls asleep or calms down. This has definitely been a great help lately when she starts getting difficult. Little discoveries like this are helping me get accustomed to Woodcrest and really learn how to work with the residents there.

Day Seventeen

Today was a great day. I spent my morning doing the cookies and coffee routine. After that though, I got to shake it up a bit. I mean it wasn't much of a change but it was something. I got to help out a woman I work with named Mariam start to decorate for the Fourth of July. Since I was the tallest one out of the workers, they had me hanging stars and flags from the ceiling. After that I decorated the windows a bit as well. We didn't get to fully finish though because we had to start getting set up for lunch. I think we'll finish the rest tomorrow. Lunch was very simple. I didn't sit with or feed anyone today. I mostly just helped out with handing out the trays of food. Today ended up being a nice change to my daily routine.

Day Sixteen

Monday was much calmer than my past couple of days at Woodcrest. Residents were quiet and so were the staff. I guess it was just the usual Monday lull. However, because of this calmness, the morning seemed as if it would never end. Cookies and coffee felt like three hours and exercises were four. Once lunch time came around though, there was much more to do and it helped pass the time. I think I'd rather have an insanely busy day at Woodcrest than a slow, quiet one. At least there would be something to do and time would pass by at a reasonable rate.

Day Fifteen

It’s been fifteen days of volunteering at the Woodcrest Center and it seriously feels like I just started yesterday. It’s been quite a journey so far. One that I will definitely have many stories to tell about and one that I will never forget. Today continued with the full moon. Audrey continued her usual fight to try and walk around by herself. Lydia was a bit calmer though. This one man Nicky picked up what she was lacking in trying to stand though. Then Sylvia started again. Only this time, Kam took her in the other room because it was very early in the morning for her to be starting and she knew it would go on until lunch. So Sylvia was taken care of. I continued with my routine until hallway supervising came. In previous blogs I talked about a lady named Betty that is a resident at Woodcrest. I was waiting in the hall with her and a couple of other residents when she started to cry. I asked her what was wrong and she held her hands up to me and said that she has cuts all over them that were bleeding. I saw nothing on her hands but they way that she looked at them, you could tell she saw it. It was pretty scary because she was really freaked out by it and at that point I was too. A nurse came a few moments later to take her to the doctor. That was something I wasn't very used to dealing with but it was just a different kind of experience. The rest of the day ran smoothly as the full moon seemed to fade away.

Day Fourteen

Today was a very interesting day. And by interesting, I mean intense. I used to get upset when there was a rough day a Woodcrest because it was stressful. However, I think I've gotten pretty used to the battles we face in there. Tuesday began like any other with my usual routine. But once I sat by Audrey and Lydia, Audrey decided to start standing up a lot. Bernardo was sitting with me and he kept assisting her in sitting back down. She got so frustrated she actually started to swing at him. I was a bit shocked but he joked around with her about it and acted like he was getting hurt. So I laughed a bit and said "Get him Audrey, get him!" She found this hilarious and we were all laughing. After that she calmed down for a good hour. After that hour though, everyone lost it.

Now they say that when there is a full moon, people act a little crazy. I never really believed that...until Tuesday. There HAD to be a full moon on Tuesday. Audrey began to act up again but wasn't in the joking mood this time. Then, once Lydia saw Audrey acting up, she decided to start as well. After that, it was just a chain reaction of residents freaking out. The lady Mary I was sitting next to started to shake this other lady Jane's wheel chair. Now Jane is not the kind of resident you want to mess with. She's actually a bit scary. She has no problem telling you she doesn't like you and you just do NOT touch her stuff or she will try to fight you. And that’s exactly what happened with Mary. Jane flipped out on her and started to scream "I'll kill you if you touch my stuff again!"

Luckily that situation was taken care of, but it set off another resident, my best friend Sylvia. I say best friend out of sarcasm because this lady absolutely hates me for some reason. I really thought she gave up on trying to go down to the office and try getting kosher food but I was certainly wrong. She was screaming her head off until we had to remove her from the room and put her in a separate one until she calmed down a bit. I got the honor of staying in that room with her. I had no problem with her screaming. I had gotten used to it by then. However, I was not ready for what came next. After I brought her back to the table, which had to be at least the fifth time, I walked back towards the door. Once I turned around, BAM! She took the vase of fake flowers that were sitting on the table and threw them at me. She actually threw flowers at me! It didn't hurt though, I actually just kind of laughed it off. She gave up at that point and agreed to stop screaming.

It was definitely a different day at Woodcrest, but I'm kind of glad it went the way it did. It was almost like a little test to see what I could handle. And quite frankly, I think I passed with flying colors.

Day Thirteen

Monday was the easy day that everyone dreams of. All of the residents behaved and listened to us. Also, there was no fighting. It was a worker at Woodcrest's dream day. We went through the routines without interruption too. I've also gotten my own routine going for when I arrive. I put my stuff away and just walk around to check and see if any residents are finished or need help with their breakfast. Then I usually take what seems to be my reserved seat between Audrey and Lydia. From there until lunch, I spend my time with them through coffee and cookies to exercises. Once lunch comes I help set up and supervise the hallway. Then I assist in helping hand out trays of food. By then, my day is finished. It seems simple as I write it out but it is much more involved. I like my routine though and wouldn't mind sticking with it for a bit.

Day Twelve

Today was yet another relaxing day for everyone. The residents were watching the news this morning with their coffee and cookies so we skipped the singing and exercise for the first time since I have been there. They seemed to be very into the change and the nature show that came on afterwards. Lunch came and I handed out trays as usual but didn't feed anyone. I seem to have gotten the job of supervising the residents in the hallway that go downstairs. Which isn't bad because I get to talk with a lot of them as they wait to be transported down. It was an overall great end to the week.

Day Eleven

Friday was a very different day. I spent the whole morning sitting with Audrey and Lydia. We had good conversations going again and she didn't give me a hard time which was great. Lydia was just sleeping though. She has been a lot lately. But when it came closer to lunch time, a nurse came and took over sitting with Audrey. Then, a lot more people came in to help out with lunch. There was a barbeque going on for the residents. However, the air conditioner in the doorway to get outside was about to fall out so for everyone's safety, we had the barbeque in the dining room. I was sent down there to help out. Since I've been volunteering at Woodcrest I have been on the third floor. This was a huge change for me. I felt pretty awkward at first because I didn't know any of the residents down there. But I was working with Camille so she showed me around a bit. It was a little crazy with everyone running around trying to get things done, but it was a very nice event that was held.

Day Ten

Thursday was the easier day that I was looking for. Everyone was very calm, listened and was patient. Even Audrey and Lydia were just relaxing. We went through our morning cookies, coffee and exercises without interruption. I spent the end of my time there supervising residents in the hallway that were waiting to be transported to the dining room downstairs. It was an overall enjoyable day.

Day Nine

Today was horrible! I walked into Woodcrest in a great mood and left there stressed out of my mind. It started off like any other day until I was asked by one of the nurses to watch Audrey again. I had no problem with it because we got along well yesterday and even held some good conversations. But today was different with her. She was much more active and agitated. Every ten seconds or so she would try and stand up to walk around, so we put her by a table to keep her busy. Instead, she just kept pushing the table away, trying to get away from that as well. Audrey is a resident that is definitely not capable of walking on her own so it was difficult to try and convince her to stay in her seat. At one point though, she got so frustrated with me that she started to swing at me and even scratched my hand. At that point I just called for a nurse and they took over, but it wasn't the best experience ever. After that I was asked by our floors activity boss, Kam, to run a couple of simple errands. I think she knew I was pretty upset about what had just happened. Only after that, Kam started to get on my case about little things. She is known to be a bit bossy and strung out, but today was far worse than what I'm used to dealing with. I felt like she was watching my every move, waiting for me to not do something her way so she could call me out on it. All I know is that when 12:30 came around I had no problem heading out at the end of the day. Hopefully tomorrow will be a less stressful day there.

Day Eight

Today was more relaxed and not as stressful as yesterday was. We got back to our normal routine and about half way through I was told to stay by two residents named Audrey and Lydia. They both have to have constant supervision because they get up constantly and cannot walk on their own. So, I was supervising while everyone else did our group session and set up for lunch. Lydia only speaks Spanish though so it’s a bit difficult to work with her because I only can interpret a little bit of what she says. She also gets very impatient and annoyed with me sometimes because she knows I don't understand her and I told her that. So whenever she gets difficult, Bernardo comes over to help me out because he can speak Spanish. Bernardo is one of the workers at Woodcrest. So together we took care of Audrey and Lydia until it was lunchtime. I'm looking forward to tomorrow because I'm starting to pick up some of the Spanish again. Maybe I will be able to answer Lydia's questions soon.

Day Seven

Yesterday was Memorial Day and I still went to go and volunteer at the nursing home. They're usually a bit short on staff on Mondays and I knew it would be a little crazy because of the holiday so I went in. It was a very nice set up we had. I spent about the first half an hour helping decorate the Woodcrest Medical Center van that drives in the parade. Then, I still went upstairs to my usual floor to help with the residents that couldn't go outside to watch the parade. There was about fifteen of them all together. We set them up by the windows and we watched and waved from there. Most of the residents were very excited about the parade, but some had no interest. After the parade was finished, it was time to set up for lunch. It was a fairly easy day for everyone and very enjoyable.

Day Six

It was a very slow day at Woodcrest. They said the weekends are much more calm than the weekdays. Plus I also volunteer in the mornings and the mornings are more calm than the afternoons too. So I lucked out with an easy day. The only thing is, the majority of my time was spent watching residents in the hall as they were brought downstairs for lunch. So that cut into my time that I usually spend with Margaret. But hopefully I can pick back up tomorrow morning. I also realized residents get a lot more visitors on the weekends than on weekdays. I guess this is due to more people having off from work. I am looking forward to tommorrow though because it is Memorial Day and I believe we are taking some of the residents outside to watch the parade. So it will be a nice change to their daily routines and fun for all of us. I'm also excited because I get to wear red, white and blue! A nice change to the usual khakis and polos.

Day Five

Today was much calmer than yesterday for us on the third floor. The residents were in a good mood and there wasn't any fighting between them. We focused a lot on exercises. It took up most of  the morning because the residents were very involved with it and some even started to dance when we put on some music to go with it. It was a lot of fun to see them having a good time and enjoying myself as well. I got to spend a lot of time with this one resident named Betty today too. She was waiting in the hall for the elevator because some of the residents go downstairs for lunch. I had to stay with her though and make sure she didn't wander off somewhere and miss lunch. We had some good conversations while waiting for her turn to go down. The only thing is though, she loses her train of thought very quickly and also thinks the past is the present at times. So our conversations ranged from stories of her childhood to her thinking she was in the past. However, she would also not make any sense sometimes when she lost her train of thought. She would think I was someone from her past and tell me things like she saw my brother the other day or that she went to go visit my kids. Either way, we both enjoyed talking to eachother because I got to learn a bit about her and it made her day to have someone to talk to for a little while.

Day Four

Today was a rough day at Woodcrest. The morning started off very slow and calm with the cookies and coffee. Half of the residents went downstairs after that for an activity and the others stayed on our floor. The ones that stayed with us just got into a small circle to do discussions and sing. However, once we started getting ready for lunch, it seemed like everyone started acting up. Some residents are supposed to stay in wheel chairs because if they stand up, they would fall over. There was about five of those residents that insisted on standing up and trying to walk around. Then, there were a couple people that kept on screaming about everything from what day it is to when lunch is coming. This triggered others to start acting up as well. This one lady even started to get a bit agressive with one of the nurses. I was pretty shocked because I'm not used to seeing the residents behave that way. They are always in a pretty good mood for the time I spend with them. One of the nurses said that it was probably just the weather that caused them to act up like that. I'm just glad that I got my one on one time with this lady Margaret that I feed everyday for lunch. She doesn't talk much, but shes very nice and just likes to sit and observe everyone. I just hope it doesn't rain again tomorrow.

Day Three

Day three and I think I've got the whole routine down. We start off the morning with cleaning up after breakfast. Then, we give out coffee and cookies. After, we have to get everyone into a big circle to start off the big discussion. It begins with going through what yesterday was and what today is. Then, we discuss whats going on in the world by going through the days newspaper a bit. Once that is finished, we get the residents to exercise a bit. The majority of them are in wheelchairs so its limited with what we do. It mostly consists of upper body stretches. By the time all of this is finished, its time to start getting everyone set up and ready for lunch. I help out with handing out lunches, feeding some residents and cleaning up afterwards. By the time we run through all of this, its about 12:30 and time for me to head out. It doesn't seem like a lot, but we do have a good amount of residents on the third floor which makes it time consuming to do each activity. We were even able to get some singing in today which was great because the majority of the group sang along. And it wasn't like when you try to get a bunch of little kids to sing and their all off pace. Instead, it was very nice because everyone sang together. It was sort of like a peaceful moment of bonding for all of the residents and everyone else there. Even for the people that don't normally get along.

Day Two

Today was a much easier day at the Woodcrest Center than yesterday. I was more familiar with the daily routine and knew more of the people that were on my floor. Now that I'm getting to know the residents, it makes it easier to go through the day because I know what each of them like, don't like and more about their medical conditions. For an example, residents wear bracelets with their names on it and they are color coded. Red means the resident is diabetic, green means their food gets thickened and white means they are regular or have no noteable medical condition. I'm also starting to be given more responsibility on my floor. Now that I'm starting to get the hang of working there, I can help out with various things and assist more with residents. I even got to have what they call "one on one" time with residents. This helped me get to know some of them a bit more, which is always helpful with doing my job and connecting with them in general. I also forgot to mention that we have a morning meeting just before we start the day. I love this and find it very helpful because I get to find out who I am working with for the day as well as the activities that will be going on. I'm looking forward to what day three will bring at the Woodcrest Center.

Day One

Today was my first day volunteering at the Woodcrest Health Care Center in New Milford. I was a bit nervous at first because I didn't really know what to expect. I was assigned to shadow and help a woman named Kam who works there. Together we worked with a few others in the dementia wing of the building. It was a very tense and upsetting atmosphere at first. However, over time I realized how much of a difference it made for me to be there. I am a new face for the residents to see and talk to daily now. It makes it easier knowing that I have a positive impact on the residents and that I am helping make a difference.