Ms. Lavender Reflection

Though I usually visit Ms. Lavender twice a week, I could only go once this week towards the end of the week. She usually does not remember me, however, this visit was a bit different. I knocked on her door and introduced myself as per usual, and instead of her warm and gentle welcome, she was very cold. Ms. Lavender was mad and disappointed at me for coming in so late. For a second, I actually thought she remembered me, except that that is not remotely possible. She was not exactly yelling at me, it was more of a stern lecture on how I needed to be more on time and keep track of things. Ms. Lavender was very frustrated and after about 5 minutes, she asked me to please leave and send someone who knew what they were doing. I was a little shocked …show more content…
The nurse seemed a little confused as to why I was asking to help her out, so we walked back to Ms. Lavender’s room, and the nurse tried to convince her to let me come back and sit with her. However, Ms. Lavender was very adamant and said she wanted to be completely alone to finish her work. So the nurse and I walked back to the main area and she said I was welcome to sit with the other patients. The nursing home I go to is separated by those with dementia and Alzheimer’s and everyone else. I sat with a group of elderly ladies who were intently watching Wheel of Fortune, and in between episodes, I tried to make conversation with them. It was a bit awkward, though, since I had no idea what to even say to them because during my visits Ms. Lavender does the majority of the talking. So they talked about things from the past. As I was chatting with the nurses, they told me that Ms. Lavender was always very cranky and that she was never in a mood. I thought that was very unusual because …show more content…
Lavender reminds me a lot of Gail from “Becoming Dead Right.” They both reminisce about the good old days, where they could drive around town and mingle with their friends. Ms. Lavender, especially, talks about the days after she served in the army. Gail, from the book, talks about how driving around town gave her so much freedom, and she could drive around wherever she wanted. Before I had read Chapter 7 from Parker, I always assumed that it was a place with a strict schedule and most patients have no say in what they do. However, the nursing home I go to is such a lively place, with different activities going on such as crafts and drawing, with patients interacting with one another, and having visitors come in and out within the set hours. It is interesting how much freedom is actually given to patient, yet the nurses make sure no one is out of bounds and everyone is following the rules. The nursing home even lets patient have their own car, and they can drive around wherever they want. I was conversing with one of the nurses, who told me that with the exception for the Alzheimer’s and dementia patients, all the other patients have the freedom to set their own times for most things like bathing, eating, and activities. The nurses there are so enthusiastic, and without that energy, many patients would get bored so easily and have low