A week after surgery, I removed my splint to take a shower. Now, unprotected, my wrist was made of glass.
With my splint on, I was clumsy, but invincible. I did not feel frail until I removed my splint.
The shower floor did not feel very different from the ice on the lake. My thoughts were whirring along like this: I cannot squeeze the shampoo bottle with my injured …
Thinking about frailty like slow-moving PTSD
In her hospital bed, she sat there confused as to what was buzzing around her. Rita was 96 years old and in the throes of dementia and agitation. As her physician assigned to her that week, I remember walking into her room and noticed her elderly husband brushing her hair w an unsteady hand and feeding her chocolates.
“My sweetie loves chocolates,” he states.
Rita, agitated, grabs his arm and throws it …
Let us not forget the caregivers
Last month, while the world was distracted by political turmoil and the pandemic’s roaring second wave, a very significant proclamation came and went with little fanfare. The United Nations General Assembly launched 2020-2030 as the Decade of Healthy Ageing, calling for a decade of concerted global action to extend the health and well-being horizons of the world’s one billion people over the age of …
Why healthy aging must be the upshot of the COVID-19 pandemic
It’s been almost a year since nursing home workers began fighting on the front lines of COVID-19. They’ve witnessed and experienced extreme trauma. They’ve seen seniors they care for suffer in fear and loneliness during prolonged and repeated lockdowns. They’ve seen residents fall catastrophically ill and too many of them die.
More than 17,000 seniors are dead from COVID-19 in Canada; Read more…
Nursing home workers at catastrophic levels of burnout and trauma
With the rapid growth of modern medicine and awareness in lifestyle and environmental influences, individuals can live longer and healthier lives. Approximately 15.2 percent of the U.S. population consists of individuals 65 years and older. To make the added years of life expectancy fulfilling, older adults need to stay socially connected and involved. One key method is through the development of meaningful …
The value of intergenerational relationships
I had planned to take care of my dad at the end of his life.
In 2009, Dad retired at 75 because of Parkinson’s disease. Over the next couple of years, he lived in his own home. My younger brother Mark, who lived nearby, faced the first difficult milestones brought on by Dad’s declining health. Mark was the one to tell Dad that he could no longer drive. And after Dad …
”I long, as does every human being, to be at home wherever I find myself.”
— Maya Angelou
Before starting my dive into medicine, almost four years ago, I was an avid violinist, pianist, disc golfer, and novice chef. Each of these activities felt comfortable and familiar–like “home.” But when I began medical school, I somewhat wistfully set them aside to focus on becoming a doctor.
If I can get through this grueling …
Finding a common chord with a patient
Consents have become a prominent part of health care. We sign consents for visits, procedures, medication, privacy, release of information, care of minors … the list goes on and on. We must acknowledge and respect the patient’s autonomy in their care. This is never more apparent or more important than in end of life care. Physicians encourage everyone to have an end of life plan, a living will. It is …
We will soon see a mental health pandemic that will cause unnecessary deaths
Telemedicine blossomed into an essential tool in health care overnight due to the surge in COVID-19 cases. It is a long lost innovation at the forefront of our battle. Telemedicine is especially valuable for our frail older adult patients. At the initial phase of the pandemic, a quick decision was made by fellowship program leaders to transition to telemedicine in an attempt to decrease the number of cases, help protect …
How telemedicine led to my personal and professional growth during the COVID-19 pandemic
Astor lies in a reclining wheelchair, surrounded by community, gathered for morning prayer. A rosary, woven between folded fingers rests upon her belly.
Astor murmurs: “Help me. Help me. I am all alone.”
Today, the last Friday in March, I am assisting another resident as he leads the Divine Mercy Chaplet, a meditative Catholic prayer using the beads of the rosary as a guide. In younger years, Astor found this prayer to …
A chaplain’s reflections in long-term care in the early days of COVID-19
She reached for my hand, her hands gnarled, the skin fragile, translucent, road mapped by bluish veins: Hands that had done much in her 87 years. She looked at me from her hospital bed and with voice trembling, her eyes tearing, spoke words that penetrated my heart: “Can I stay here? Everyone is so kind. I am all alone now. I have no family or friends left. I have no …
Loneliness is a silent epidemic crying out to be heard
On a cold evening in early March, my grandpa and I queued outside a nursing home in rural California. He pulled an insulated lunchbox, filled with hot chai and pureed rotis, to his chest and sighed. There are at least eight families in front of us, and if we don’t move fast, my grandma will fall asleep before she’s had dinner.
Twenty minutes later, we’ve reached the threshold: a nurse takes …
How social distancing affects vulnerable nursing home residents
COVID-19 has rapidly spread across the nation, leading to the implementation of stringent social distancing guidelines by local and regional authorities. In a desperate effort to limit infection rates, in-person social interactions have been reduced, and many have turned towards indoor hobbies and online platforms to connect with their loved ones.
Still, this solution to mitigate the spread of the virus deeply impacts vulnerable groups. Specifically, social isolation of the elderly …
The exacerbation of social isolation among the elderly
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I have cared for them both, husband and wife, now in their 80s, for almost 20 years. She is a retired nurse and him from his business. They are so typical of this “greatest generation”: tough, enduring, hard-working, deeply faithful, fervently independent, those characteristics that allowed them to survive the Great Depression, World War II, and the many challenges that come with life. They have seen their share of joy …
The final words that are a precious reminder of why I went into medicine
A few weeks ago, I met Mr. T, a 96-year-old man admitted to the hospital from a nursing home. With numerous chronic medical problems and another hospitalization preceding his nursing home stay, Mr. T had been clear about his wishes. After spending a few nights in the ICU without improvement, he and his wife had opted to pursue hospice care. Following his transfer from the ICU onto my wards team, …
Addressing the emotional burden of COVID-19
Two months ago, I kneeled next to Sarah – an avid drinker of chocolate milk, ex-journalist, and new hospice resident – in a nursing homeroom. We had a knack for discussing emotions, and that day, our conversation reached the idea of suffering.
Her pain-stricken voice shared, “Did you know that we notice? When someone’s health turns for the worst, we notice. There is a special whispering that flutters throughout the building. …
We must support nursing home residents during COVID-19 trauma
The novel coronavirus continues to rage through America, with the total cases standing at more than 210,000 and the death toll at over 5,000. It is without question that our seniors–those 65 years of age or older–will bear the brunt of the health consequences of COVID-19 and the projected American death toll of up to 240,000 this year.
It is now well known that seniors have a …
An excerpt from Tough Decisions In Care Of Elderly Loved Ones (A guide for caregivers).
Empathy is more than just loving an elderly loved one. It is more than simply making the decision we may feel is best for our loved one. Empathy is different …
Empathy is a crucial component when working with older adults
Most Canadians are familiar with nursing homes or long-term care facilities that provide 24-hour care to seniors who are no longer able to care for themselves independently – but we don’t spend a lot of time thinking about them. Given our rapidly aging population, and the likelihood that someone we love, or maybe even ourselves, will be living there one day, maybe we should.
What might surprise …
Our seniors deserve better. It’s time we all paid more attention.
The first signs are often subtle — missed appointments, unpaid bills, or a once immaculate home that now has an unmowed lawn and dirty dishes on the counter. It’s easy for adult children of aging parents to miss these first signs that their parents need help with tasks they once handled easily on their own. In fact, many older people take great pains to cover up these problems and insist …
When an aging parent says no to much needed help
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