Culminating Blog Reflection

Working with Alzheimer's patients can get very challenging. The fact that a person with this disease can suddenly lose control of their brain at any second is a scary thought. When a person started to yell and scream unexpectedly, I had to think fast. I needed to calm them down and reassure them that everything was okay. Talking to them helped them think and listen and sometimes, I would start a conversation with them. They seemed happier when I started conversations with them. I was glad to hear stories about what they remembered when they were children. However, it saddened me because they couldn't remember anything recently that has happened.

Personally, I overcame some of my shyness by talking to the patients at Aegis Living. I went up to people and tried to start conversations with them. I also became gentler. People with Alzheimer’s disease can be sensitive. I watched what I said around them to make sure I didn't say anything to offend them even if it wasn't considered offensive. Lastly, I learned that Alzheimer’s cannot be cured. However, keeping the mind occupied may prevent this disease from happening.

There weren't many challenges I encountered when volunteering at Aegis Living. The ones I did were when the patients were fighting. It was scary how fast a person’s emotion can change so fast. I separated the two patients and tried to bring up an interesting topic to talk about. Sometimes it worked and sometimes it didn't  When it didn't work, I got one of the caretakers that worked there. Another challenge was when patients asked when their family was coming to visit them. I had to lie to them and say that their family was coming. One time, this lady asked me when her husband was coming and it hurt to say that he was coming soon because I found out that he passed away a while ago. Before I could be strong for myself, I had to be strong for them. 

April 3, 2013: 2 hours

Today I served dinner to Assistant Living. There were no problems today. Everything went really well. There was a very upbeat mood and everyone was really nice. I poured coffee, served soup and dessert. Then I cleaned up the tables and set it up again for the next day.

I will continue to learn about the disease. I have a total of 26 hours completed.

March 13, 2013

I have not been able to volunteer these past few weeks.

Personal Narrative

            Family is one of the most important factors in life. There are many people who grow up as a single child; however, there are many who grow up with siblings. I am one of those lucky people who grew up with a sibling. I have one sister and she is three years older than me. Although we have our differences sometimes, I love her dearly because she cares for me and takes care of me. I can say that my sister and I are pretty close. I can tell her everything about anything and she can do the same to me. There are many reasons why I love my sister, but the way she treats me makes me happy.

            My sister is a complete Taylor Swift fan and she told me that she wanted to go to her concert coming up. She asked me if I wanted to go and I said yes. The concert wasn’t until months from then because she had to get the tickets, but I was happy she asked if I wanted to go with her. Out of all people, she asked me if I wanted to go with her. She paid for everything and I really appreciated it.

            When the concert day came, we were both pretty excited. It was our first concert we have ever been to and we went together. We took a picture with a cardboard cutout of Taylor Swift and ate hot dogs. She even bought me a Taylor Swift shirt as souvenir. When we went into the arena, we found our seats and they were pretty good. We could see everything. The concert was about to start and we were getting our singing voices ready. Throughout the concert, we were singing and dancing to Taylor Swift’s songs together and having fun.

            Having a sibling can make you happier because you have someone to play with and spend time with. I had a fun time with my sister at the Taylor Swift concert. I saw one of my favorite singers with my favorite sister. There was no other person I would have rather been with other than my sister. I always have a good time whenever I'm with my sister. She is the only person I can be myself with and I'm glad she is my sister.

February 17, 2013: 3 hours

Today I made leprechaun hats with the residents for St. Patrick's Day. Only one resident was helping out, but it was still fun because she had such a positive attitude.

When dinner came along, I help served the food. I thought it was cute because a lot of the resident's families came to visit them today. It made me happy because the residents seemed to be happier with the company. When the residents were eating, a resident who doesn't speak much English called me over. I went to her and she grabbed my hand. She kept speaking in her language, and I didn't know what to do. So I just smiled at her until she let go.

One resident got really mad. He started to swear and yell. I was frightened and shocked because he was one of the residents who was really nice to me. However, I know he didn't get mad intentionally. Alzheimer's can make a person change moods in an instant because it messes with the brain.

A lot of residents said that they were cold, but the room we were in was quite warm. I guess the disease makes a person cold because it's draining out all of their energy.

The next step is to keep observing people with Alzheimer's behavior. I have a total of 24 hours completed.

February 6, 2013: 4 hours

The first thing I did was paint a resident's nails. She fell asleep while I was painting them. And I felt like she was having some kind of nightmare because she was twitching. I got kind of scared, but when she woke up, she was fine.

Next, when I walked through the door for Life's Neighborhood, one of the residents tried talking to me. But she was whispering so I couldn't really understand her. I tried to asked her if anything was wrong, and all I heard was, "don't tell anyone. Now go on, I know your mom." Something along those lines. I didn't know what to do, so I walked away when she walked away.

I read and asked some trivia questions. One person answered and got most of them right. However, I can tell she was getting frustrated when she didn't know the answers to some of them. So I tried hinting to her what it was or I'd just tell her and move on to the next question.

When dinner was about to start, I was trying to get the residents to the table. One of the residents was in a wheelchair. And she kept trying to leave from the table. Whenever I put her back to the table, she kind of growled at me, but I know it's not her fault because it's the disease and I felt like she was getting a little impatient because the food wasn't there yet.

The next step is to keep learning about the disease. I have a total of 21 hours completed.

February 2, 2013: 1 hour

Today I served dinner to the residents in Assistant Living. There was this one lady who was very nice. She still remembered my name which really shocked me. It was also nice that she still remembered my name because it means that the disease isn't as severe for her.

As I was clearing the tables, a lady in a wheelchair said she needed to go to the bathroom. She asked me to push her to the restroom, so I did. And when we got there, she asked me to wait outside. I said okay. But then she told me that she needed help with getting on the toilet. As she was getting up out of her wheelchair, I panicked and got a caretaker as soon as possible. The caretaker helped her and I went back to clear the tables.

The next step is to observe how Alzheimer's affects a person. I have a totally of 17 hours.

January 15, 2013: 3 hours

Today I colored with some of the residents in Life's Neighborhood. Aegis was getting ready for Chinese New Years and Valentine's Day so they were decorating the place with hearts and Chinese lanterns. I was coloring hearts and teddy bears with some of the residents. While we were coloring, another resident who was in a wheelchair started to yell and scream at the top of her lungs. It startled not only me, but the other residents in the room as well. The caretakers kept asking her what was wrong and trying to calm her down, but she kept yelling. The lady I was coloring with got a little irritated and kept yelling at the lady who was screaming to be quiet in a mean way. I was a little frightened because of all the constant yelling and screaming going on, but I tried my best to stay calm for the residents. I tried to talk to the lady I was coloring with to keep her mind off of the lady who was screaming, and it seemed to work for a while until the lady in the wheelchair screamed again. But soon enough, she stopped and we continued to color.

I asked one of the caretakers why the lady in the wheelchair was screaming and she told me that it was because of the disease. That got me interested in learning more about what this disease can do to a person.

After I finished serving dinner to Life’s Neighborhood, I went to talk to my mentor and asked him some questions about dementia. I learned that for people who have dementia, their brain is a lot different than those who don’t have dementia. In the brain of a dementia patient, it has plaxitatum, which attacks certain parts of the brain. It suffocates the brain cells and once the brain cells are gone, they can never come back. You cannot recreate brain cells.

It’s really sad how there is no way of helping the people with dementia. The only thing I can do is try to talk to them and keep them company as much as possible.

Next, I will learn more about the disease and how it will affect people’s brains.

I have a total of 16 hours completed.

January 4, 2013: 4 hours

Today I danced and sang with the residents of Life's Neighborhood for Happy Hour. I feel like the entertainment for Life's Neighborhood isn't as good as the one in Assistant Living, but that's just my opinion. I served juice and a little snack for the residents so they can enjoy a show and a little something to eat. When I was passing out juice, one of the residents grabbed my hand and started dancing with me. I thought it was cute, so of course I danced with her.

I found out that the residents in Life's Neighborhood eats dinner a little earlier than Assistant Living because the residents in Life's Neighborhood tend to sleep earlier. I passed out dinner and poured water for the residents. When they were done, I took their plates and cleared everything off the table. Some residents don't eat that much, manly because they don't have much of an appetite or because they just refuse to eat.

I talked to one of the caretakers there. He was telling me that in order to be a caretaker, you would need a really strong stomach. Being a caretaker can be a very messy job, and sometimes the smell can get unbearable. I kind of felt disgusted by what he was telling me. I tend to have a weak stomach sometimes, and I don't know if I would be able to handle some of the smells I would be introduced to.

Next, I will learn more about the residents and about the disease.

January 3, 2013: 4 hours

Today I played games with the residents in Life's Neighborhood, read them a short story, and asked them trivia questions. We played Hedbanz, a game where you guess what your card is on top of your head. It was very difficult to play with most of the residents because most of them don't like to speak.Only about two of the residents tried playing. I had to tell one of them what they were and the other resident guessed what she was. After one game, the entertainment came in which was a guy singing. I had to sing along with the rest of the residents. Some residents sang, others just danced to the music, and others just sat there waiting for it to be over. After the entertainment left, I read them stories and asked them easy questions. Two people were paying attention and contributing to answer the questions. They got most of the questions right and I cheered them on.

After a while, I went to Assistant Living and helped them serve lunch. The residents can be very demanding, but some can be nice. I helped clean the tables and fold the napkins.

I went back to Life's Neighborhood to see if they needed any help. When I got there, one of the residents was on the phone talking to someone. However, another resident started to yell at her, telling her to get off the phone. He grabbed the phone from her and started to walk away from it with the chord still attached to the phone. The people who worked there broke them up immediately. It was really scary seeing how the residents can react in such manner.

I was really glad to help Aegis with serving lunch and trying to play with the residents. Next, I will help serve dinner to the residents and try to learn more about taking care of them.

December 7, 2012: 4 hours

I helped Aegis do Happy Hour. Happy Hour happens every Friday. It consists of drinks, a little snack, and entertainment. Happy Hour is important. Everything releases endorphins, a natural chemical that the brain produces, but laughter and music are the biggest producers of endorphins. Because of memory loss, the residents could have depression. Having Happy Hour makes it better.

One of the resident's called me over while the music was playing and I was serving drinks for Happy Hour. She asked me if her husband was coming and I said that I was going to check. I asked my mentor and he said that her husband passed away a long time ago. He told me to tell her that he was coming. That was one of the hardest things I have ever had to do. It was heartbreaking to tell her that her late husband was on his way. I know she wouldn't remember that I told her that, but I felt really bad and sad.

The next thing I will do is entertain the residents with games so they won't feel lonely. 

December 6, 2012: 1 hour

Today I took a tour around Aegis. There are about 70 residents in the institute. The whole institute is designed to recreate the environment of their childhood. There are paintings everywhere, a bus stop and clothes line outside, baby dolls in cribs, and life skill stations with clothes. Sometimes, the residents may put on the clothes to relive memories. Aegis is divided into two sections: Assistant Living and Life's Neighborhood. The difference between Assistant Living and Life's Neighborhood is that in Life's Neighborhood, the conditions are more severe. There cannot be any more than 20 residents in Life's Neighborhood because if there are too many people, it can cause unacceptable behavior and no relaxation. Since Life's Neighborhood is separated from Assistant Living, there is a code to get out of Life's Neighborhood so the residents in Life's Neighborhood won't go into Assistant Living. The doors that separates Life's Neighborhood and Assistant Living are painted to trick the residents into thinking it's not a door so they won't try to escape.

Learning about how the institute was designed to relive the resident's childhood got me interested. I am scared about how the residents will react to a volunteer being there with them, but I am excited to get started and help them out. The next step is helping them out with Happy Hour, which is an activity they do every Friday.