Saturday, July 13, 2013

Out of Order


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.

1 comment: