I have an internship dealing with a ton of senior citizens who are mostly sick or they can't walk without a walker, wheelchair, cane, or access a ride. And i need to help them everyday with different things like take them shopping, or bring them to a doctor's appointment because they are mostly incapable to take themselves places. From reading the book Tuesdays with Morrie i realized that what Morrie was going through was mostly the same exact things these people were going through; which was being dependent and mostly emotionally dependent.
I remember from one of my visits i visited some elderly who had an oxygen tank in her house and neeed to put breathing tubes up her nose in order to breathe fresh air. The air in her house wasn't safe for her to breathe since she was in her 80s and there was construction in the apartment next to her. And mostly when i visit her she needs to bring a walker with her and stops literally every two minutes in order to catch her breath, even though were walking like one short block away to a pharmacy.
We went to the pharmacy and she needed to get her flu shot and she needed help with a survey. The pharmacist asked her to circle the conditions that she had. While i was helping her circle her specific conditions i noticed she had multiple things wrong with her and not just one or two but around three. Which for a person around 80 is really bad. Before she got her flu shot i told her about the side effects and that it may hurt her and she didn't bother listening to me. And after the pharmacist gave her the flu shot, the pharmist told her that she might have a high fever along with other side effects for an 80 year old to deal with.
She started telling me stories about her life and what's wrong with her. I went to her house after the pharmacy and she started telling me why she needed an oxygen tank, and that she could hardly breathe on her own without a machine to help her out. She also sat down with her new bottle of wine and wanted me to pour her some so i did and while entering the kitchen i noticed other liquors. I asked her why she drank and she told me because she gets depressed so she drinks to feel calm and happier. I told her to stop but she wouldn't listen. As i sat there wondering why she was killing her self faster; she just grab the cup of wine and started drinking it. I told her that i needed to go since it was getting late, as i gave her a kiss on the cheek and a hug goodbye, i started to walk home and wondered to myself why does she want to die so soon.
For the list of symptoms about the H1N1 for paragraph number 2 here is a link:
http://www.suite101.com/content/swine-flu-vaccine-side-effects-a150414
That's so sad Richie. She is so weak. She can't do anything without oxygen tank and a walker. I think she drinks wine because she feels so sad. Sometimes when she gets so sad and cannot bear her pain, she finds wine, drinks wine and then forgets everything.
ReplyDeleteI think she really needs someone to talk a lot. Concerns, attentions and love. If you meet her often, she will stop drinking wine. I think like that.
Also it's so sweet that you hugged her and kissed on her cheek.
She will be very happy everytime when you visit her.