1st Official Parkview Nursing Home visit (1/16/09 )

[As transcripted from my journal]

1:15-2:45pm

"After several trips to Parkview Nursing Home here in Muncie IN last year (month or 2 ago), we had our first time with the residents today. I made up 1.5 hrs of work in the Nursing LRC from 9:30-11am and then I worked out until ~ 12:15pm. I caught the MITS bus and met a friend, Brandon, at the main station downtown. We hopped on the 1:00pm bus and arrived at Parkview about 10-15 minutes later.



Arrival
We met Kathy, whom we have coordinated our volunteer work with, to see how we could serve. We were about an hour early for activity time so she said we could mingle with the residents. I sat in a chair closer to the entrance where a lady was trying to call her son. It was a long open room with a big flatscreen TV and chairs and tables. Attached was the dining facility. I talked briefly with this lady. Next, I met a man who I later realized his name was Constant and not Don. He was getting his excercise in by moving around in his wheel chair with his feet. Most residents are in wheel chairs while others have walkers. This is a much different atmosphere than I am used to.

Next I met Louis, shom I ended up staying with for most of our time there. Brandon also found others and we went different ways. She had a walker. We first met her when we were speaking with Laura, one volunteer calls her grandma. Lous came up to me and asked if there was a fire alarm and if they were evacuating. There was clearly no alarms ringing so I told her I didn't think there was a fire drill. (She may be around 90). I started talking to her for a minute and then she asked 'which way do people usually get out of here'. I thought she meant out of this area to some where so I repeated the question to her and some of the staff heard and said 'oh no, Louis you don't want to go outside, it's below 0F.' We started walking after I asked her where she was going or trying to go but she didn't know. The building layout is mostly a square. We started on our way around it, passing resident rooms. It didn't take long to see she had a sense of humor even though it was hard for her to hear and understand sometimes. It seemed like she would go any way I went and waited to hear confirmation on which way to turn. "

Break--------Break [in writing in my journal]

[resumed 1/24/09 around noon]

"I remember her saying after she made the correct turn on her own, "Aren't I brililant?". She was fun to walk with. I remember having my perspective changed and feeling more somber. I am still relitively at the beginning of my life and now I had jumped to a place where many were at the end of their life. Many didn't seem to function like they used to, while others are a little younger and seem like they wouldn't need to be there (upper 50's)."