My new job requires me, among other things, to integrate and coordinate the operations and activities in a nursing home, so the first thing I have to do is to get to know this nursing home. And that’s what I’ve been doing for the past two weeks. It’s been great, I’m slowly getting the big picture of how to run a nursing home, but it’s still a long way to go before I fully grasp the in-and-out of the facility.
The learning part aside (which was really exciting), I got to see a lot of the old folks in need of care. Some of them still mentally alert, some physically disabled, some with dementia. Almost half of them are bed-bound; many are abandoned by family members. We have another facility, at a different location, which houses the chronic sick, mostly with congenital diseases; those were even more heartbreaking to witness. Those ah-peks and ah-mahs reminded me of my grandma, though her condition is not anywhere close to theirs. I found myself feeling sorry for them, and at some point I was at the verge of tears. But almost simultaneously I felt ashamed of myself — for someone who wants to serve in healthcare, how can I be so weak? No, emotions should be refrained. These people need care, and I have work to do. I have to remind myself not to get too sentimental. It’s a tough job, taking care of those residents. I salute the nurses, I really do. Note to self though- I’ll never put my folks in a home, no matter how great those homes are. And I won’t want to live anymore, if I can’t be of any use to the society, OR, if I can’t enjoy the simple pleasures of life.
Aging. Something all of us have to go through. How you want to look at life and how to live the autumn and winter of your life, however, is completely up to you.