Posted 4-3-20
Day 22 of the Shawshank Redemption Re:Dementia lock down for mom and 1.5 million others loving in nursing homes across the United States. Sigh…
What a challenge for them, for their loved ones, and for the staff. The desire to keep them safe from obvious threats (the COVID-19 virus, for one…however, the flu is terrible this year too…) has overshadowed the less obvious, but still nefarious “bug”, if you will: loneliness. The science community calls this loneliness “social isolation“, and, just for a while during our little pandemic, we sort of understand (a little) of how they feel every day.
Being isolated from loved ones is bad for our health, but it is especially bad for seniors with other conditions. (Note: there are a lot of resources listed here…click on any bold word…) It has been estimated that the negative health problems caused by being lonely is roughly equivalent to smoking 15 cigarettes a day. If the patient has other conditions, they are often made worse by being alone. In summary? Loneliness kills…
SeniorAge and all of the rest of the Area Agencies on Aging fully understand this harm, and have thousands of activities going on at senior centers throughout the United States to combat isolation and to build the sense of connection and community that all humans crave. But what of the poor men and women in nursing homes with no visitors and no way to meet with outside peers and/or family? Sure, staff, with varying levels of empathy, connect with the residents. Some are amazing, and some are better served working alone themselves. The remaining folks, slipping through the cracks? We can be part of the solution. 🙂
My family and I try hard to visit with at least some residents every time we get to visit. We learn names, things about these brave men and women, and make connection with them. Hence the Sweet 17 as part of our little subtitle her at the Digital Cornbread table. These 17 (all) women were mom’s “family” the first year plus she lived at her nursing home. Very few had any visitors and only one or two besides mom had regular visitors. It is a tragedy beyond words…
So, once this pandemic is done, find yourself some lonely seniors and connect with them. Bring them goodies. Gather your church or civic group friends and adopt a whole wing of them. 🙂 These men and women are special and they need us…typically after serving us for 70-90 years. It is the least we could do. Our joint solitary confinement will be over before you know it, but theirs never ends. Get a plan today. 🙂
#EndALZ
Update: Not much to report on mom. Lonely without our frequent visits. I try to connect through Facetime, but it isn’t the same. Time needs to speed up a little. 🙁