I recently returned from visiting my parents who live in an
independent retirement community. The
majority of this age 80+ generation who live in this community eat their meals
in the community dining room. At the
time I visited, one of three elevators was down.
They were waiting on parts to be shipped in to fix the elevator. This facility has 3 elevators, one on either
side and one in the middle.
Unfortunately it was the central elevator that had broken down, the one
closest to the dining room.
This breakdown forced some residents to take a new way to
get to and from the dining room. For
those who walking was a challenge due to physical ailments found this
difficult. For those who had a degree of
dementia - this threw them totally off kilter.
They had become accustomed to the visual cues along a certain route to
and from the dining room. Now those cues
are all different and they lost their way.
About the 3rd day I was there the south elevator
broke down. So now there is only one elevator
working. More and more people did not
come to meals because the walk was just too far and too difficult for
them. So some missed out on the only
socialization they get during each day.
For others they could make the walk but got very confused now on which
elevator was working (signs were poorly handwritten and put to the side of the
elevator-not on the door of the elevator).
And then more confusion on how to get to and from the dining hall.
When I left 5 days later both elevators had still not been
fixed. I recently broke my ankle and
this trip was my first experience with walking without the aid of a
scooter. I used a crutch for the first
few days but worked up the stamina and balance so I could walk without the
crutch. I know how difficult it was for
me, and I am 30-40 years younger than most of these residents.
All this to say lets be mindful and compassionate of others
abilities.
:-(
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