it ain't what you do but the way that you do it

15th September 

Four weeks in and I'm knackered, mentally drained, aching shoulders and tired eyes.

Not because the job is tough, but because I'm using all my skill every day...and I wake up in the night with ideas!

The last week has been a lot of work on the pc. All the planning notes on paper and in my head needed to be united in spread sheets. As anyone in the care profession knows, documentation is necessary and with dementia more so to monitor the progression. Fluid intake, bowel movements, sleep patterns, activities to name a few, all combine to give an overview of the residents.  With 40 of them, it takes up considerable time for the carers, support workers, one to ones and nurses. I knew me adding more detailed reviews would not go down well with my colleagues so I had to devise the whole activity process to be as simple as possible. ( I won't bore you with it!) Out went my elaborate plans and in came a more simplified smiley system 😊🙄☹️that came into play to report back on each event. In came clear instructions for activities. Out went complex activities that wouldn't suit the capabilities. In came KISS... keep it simple, stupid! In came spreadsheets and out went my many scribbles as the plan fell into place.

A colour coded weekly activity chart that focuses on covering the residents needs from emotion to physical. Those doing qualifications ( including me) have the evidence in front of them to support their workbook. ( I wonder if they will realise it? ) Everyone has something attractive to look at,  visitors included. Spreadsheets rock. At the end of the day, my shoulders ached but next weeks activities are ready to roll and I'm justifiably satisfied. Let's see if I think so at the end of next week!

But what about the residents? I've not spent much time on the units this week. A daily wander to say hi to both staff and residents but not so long spent chatting and learning about the characters. The activities cupboard ( read bomb site) is no longer a dumping ground...it has a padlock. The paperwork done. Birthday banners rescued from one unit and dropped at another ( note to self, give every unit their own banners and balloons), cakes organised for birthdays and talk like a pirate day, ( yes I really get paid for making over 40 cocktail stick sized pirate flags). Reflexology details printed ( national reflexology week) with the addition of the lion massage to the back (puzzled? I'll explain next time) and a new poem written for a leg massage ( Hedgehogs and butterflies made an appearance here) white board and pens ready for national doodle day ( did I say this was working?) then a few hours cutting leaf shapes for a dignity tree for Alzheimer's day....and everything neatly placed in folders for each unit. 

Satisfying.

A shout out for offcuts of material brought a lovely surprise of some lavender bags from Pat. Given out today, they have already helped one restless resident have a calm day. Staff were naming who would benefit as they admired the handiwork; half of them quickly disappeared into rooms. More offcuts but of a different sort appeared on my doorstep. I asked a printer for a few sheets of card and paper: I came home to three reams! I'd forgotten how heavy print media was but this will give us so much scope with projects. Thanks Lee, I just need to lump it into the motor to lug into work. It stayed in my tiny porch until I'd taken the dog out, he wasn't impressed at the mountaineering!

And so the residents, and this is just today.

I smiled at the pleasure the lavender bags gave.

I shed a tear as friends said goodbye to their friend as they wouldn't be seeing her till next spring. I wondered what changes would have occurred by then. Hugs were given with ease. 

Larks and laughter singing along with fellow staff.

Shoulder dancing with David as he whistled a tune: his hands on my shoulders moving me in time to his tune.

Lump in my throats when family thanked me for what I did, I passed those thanks to the carers for I had done nothing.

Learning that Bob at 93 got his OBE for rescuing people in Coventry after being a POW in Singapore for 5 years. Another lump when he told someone that things were better since I'd been there.

Sky the Pat dog. A lovely golden retriever who shows unconditional love. I've never seen such a reaction. Sky appeared and unresponsive residents glowed. Any challenging behaviour went out the window. Gnarled fingers curled into soft golden curls. Smiles, giggles and cuddles. It was amazing to see how something so simple can change a person. 

And then ...

The sparky has been in to sort the leccy for the magic table to be fitted ( so excited).

Stay tuned!

week two GETTING THE HANG OF THINGS

For a Bank Holiday Monday it was unusual to be heading off to work but hey, what else would I be doing on a beautiful hot day? It was to be the start of a mixed week of revelation and determination. I was determined this week to spend more time with the residents and get to know some characteristics and start to understand capabilities. Plus there was the Bingo effect: more about that shortly.

I was developing the routine of starting the day with writing some ideas down, the 30 minute drive into work with its beautiful country views was inspiring for some reason. A chat with cook as I made a cuppa was always enlightening. She was happy to support me in whatever ideas I had that would benefit the residents. After working pretty much solo all my life, this team work was proving to be fruitful. I was talking to anyone who asked what ideas I'd had so far and was judging their reaction. This in turn was teaching me a lot as the conversations developed into them sharing their knowledge with me and me getting to know them as people and them me.


Where is Home?
I was seated in a lounge reading some notes about a resident when one of the guys was getting more and more distressed. 'I wanna go home' was all he could say. No amount of support was making him realise that this was home. I sat quietly and watched as the staff tried to sooth him, taking him back to his room to get him into familiar surroundings, but he didn't settle for a few hours. It was then that I had a chat with a nurse. Where is home? was it here, his last house, his family home as a child? Maybe if he visited any of those, he wouldn't feel at home. Home is a feeling. A feeling of safety and love where you felt comfortable she explained. These words stayed with me and had a profound effect on my understanding of dementia as a whole. 
I also got to see the pride the staff got from doing their job well. A support worker took from his pocket a crumpled card and offered it me. A lovely thank you from a family of a man he cared for thanking him for all the work he did with their relative. It made that young man proud that he had an effect on someone's life for the better.

And along came Bingo
No, not the game but a fluffy orange ball I had bought in.

Bingo was duly named after one of the Banana Splits [you can tell my age remembering them!] everyone who saw him immediately smiled. A good sign I figured but it was about to be tested. One of the gentlemen who sat in the window was feeling very low and I went in to see him for a chat. A local man who was a POW and had an OBE, he was usually chatty but today he wasn't. I took in Bingo, what effect would it have? 'What the heck is that?' he asked. 'This is Bingo my boyfriend' I said as I offered it to him. He chuckled as I offered Bingo to him, 'You daft bugger' he said, but he was happily feeling his fur and bouncing him slightly on his knee. Bingo was a success!
It was agreed that Bingo needed his relatives to visit each unit...so off I went in search of them. They were to make an appearance later in the week.

Meanwhile I chatted to residents and staff, spending some quality time with a male nurse discussing the ideas I had and learning from him as he had done my role for a time. His enthusiasm was infectious and he gave me some great information. We were on the same wavelength: it was seeming like I was going in the right direction. Anyone with any length of time in the care roles made no bones about telling me that my job was difficult. I'm glad they are all so honest. I'm also glad of my organisational skills, they will certainly be coming into play in a big way. I was relishing the challenge.

The Bingo Effect take 2
So, it was time to unleash the Bingo family to the residents. What would they think? Infact, what do you think? What would happen when I left them to it, would they create havoc?

I wandered the units, dishing out the balls, leaving the kids: the small Pukey and Chilly in Reception in the care of Admin. [I won't go into the bizarre conversations we had about these guys, you would think I was bonkers.....] I wondered if the staff or residents would take to them, only time would tell.

There are therapy balls I've now found that you can buy that are textured I've now discovered, so I hoped these would be similar in their effect. I found out much sooner than I thought. On my morning meet and greet on Thursday I could hear laughter [for once not mine, the staff always knew where I was], it was coming from the lounge upstairs. I stood watching through the window. Yoric was in action! [Yellow furball]. The support worker was deep into a one to one session with a male resident. Back and forth, back and forth, bouncing in the middle, throwing high high then low. I asked if I could join in and before long the resident was doing dummy shots and spinning Yoric so he was hard to catch! He then decided to put him on the floor, lifting him with his toe and also spinning him on the spot with his hand. The resident was happy and smiling, chatting and enjoying the interaction. These furballs were proving great therapy!

I left eventually with a big smile on my face. I felt proud and happy that I had helped bring smiles to people. Lets hope it continues!

Bingo, Smiler, Pukey, Chilly, Yoric, George and Zippy #dementiaactivities