{"id":3361,"date":"2006-06-11T12:00:00","date_gmt":"2006-06-11T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/care-givers.com\/articles\/wheelchair-ballet\/"},"modified":"2021-06-25T17:56:45","modified_gmt":"2021-06-25T17:56:45","slug":"wheelchair-ballet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/care-givers.com\/articles\/wheelchair-ballet\/","title":{"rendered":"Wheelchair Ballet"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cthis ballet is not for dancing\u201d<\/b><\/p>\n

The Video Camera <\/i><\/b>on the wall of Swan Lake Manor is recording. All the film sees is a lone person, Lydia, sitting in a wheelchair in the long corridor. Her shoulders are hunched and her head is covered with a brightly colored scarf.<\/p>\n

This camera is meant to see all. And, this early Saturday morning, it did.<\/p>\n

The clock on the wall says 7: 31 AM. Screams are heard echoing down the long hall way of Swan Lake Manor,<\/p>\n

\u201cHelp me, help me!\u201d screams Lydia as she inches her wheelchair painfully, slowly forward.<\/p>\n

No response. The camera does not pick up anyone or anything joining the drama.<\/p>\n

\u201cNurse, nurse, nurse!\u201d the screams are becoming shrieks now.<\/p>\n

Still – no response. However, at approximately 7:37, a caregiver is seen dashing across the hallway; pausing to contemplate the screams of help, and then marching on.<\/p>\n

Soon, Walter, a resident in a wheelchair waltzes around the corner,<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s all the screaming about?\u201d says Walter, moving his wheelchair closer by to Lydia.<\/p>\n

\u201cHelp, help, help!\u201d continues Lydia, as she pushes her wheelchair along, ignoring Walter.<\/p>\n

\u201cOh shut-up!\u201d Walter shouts, extending his right foot and giving Lydia\u2019s wheelchair a good, sound kick. A dead eyed stare shoots back from Lydia.<\/p>\n

It is now 7:49, and there is no one in sight.<\/p>\n

By 7:51, Walter has had enough. He dances his wheelchair over to the nursing unit of Swan Lake Manor, and says to the nurse,<\/p>\n

\u201cCan\u2019t you hear Lydia making all that racket down the hall. Why don\u2019t you do something about it? It\u2019s driving us all crazy.\u201d<\/p>\n

The nurse is consumed with her work at the nurse\u2019s station, barely glancing up. She calmly replies, \u201cOh, that\u2019s just Lydia telling us she wants us to push her wheelchair to the dining room for breakfast. She\u2019s always like that Walter, don\u2019t worry.\u201d<\/p>\n

The appealing shouts are still heard down the long, empty corridor,<\/p>\n

\u201cHelp, help, help me!\u201d shouts Lydia. The clock goes on ticking at Swan Lake Manor; it is now 8:06 and breakfast will be served at 9 AM.<\/p>\n

Interview
\n<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

The interview with Lydia\u2019s nurse follows:<\/b><\/i><\/p>\n

What message do you think Lydia is trying to deliver? And why do you think she repeats herself so much?<\/b><\/p>\n

I guess she might be telling us she is hungry. Or maybe she is lonely and wants the girls to give her some attention. It\u2019s just that everyone is so busy early in the morning getting everyone ready for breakfast, that nobody has time to spend with Lydia.<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t think Lydia remembers when we tell her that breakfast is coming, or that we will help her when we can. She just keeps screaming.<\/p>\n

Why do you suppose this is?<\/b><\/p>\n

I imagine this is because of Lydia\u2019s mental deterioration. She really is doing the best she can. I\u2019m thinking maybe Lydia can\u2019t understand what\u2019s going on and she is afraid.<\/p>\n

Does she know where she is living? And does she know when & where breakfast is being served?<\/b><\/p>\n

Some days, Lydia thinks she is still living in Russia. It seems no matter how many times the girls tell her she is now living at Swan Lake Manor, she won\u2019t remember. The same thing happens with meal times. Even after Lydia has finished her breakfast, she will ask the girls, \u201cIs it breakfast time yet?\u201d<\/p>\n

This must be very frustrating for you and your staff.<\/b><\/p>\n

Absolutely! Although it may appear that we have been ignoring Lydia this morning, we have to put up with this on a daily basis. And we do have 75 residents to prepare for their breakfast time.<\/p>\n

Do you have some suggestions as to how caregivers can focus on Lydia\u2019s remaining skills?<\/b><\/p>\n

That\u2019s a really good question. Lydia has always enjoyed cooking, gardening and classical music. Also, she loves being around small children.<\/p>\n

What might be some ways of maintaining Lydia\u2019s respect and dignity?<\/b><\/p>\n

Now that you mention it, perhaps we could bring Lydia to the dining room earlier, and she could assist the girls in the kitchen. Or, maybe we could even turn on some classical music for her, while she is waiting for breakfast.<\/p>\n

Do you see any benefits in leaving Lydia in bed a little longer in the morning?<\/b><\/p>\n

That might just work. The girls could turn on her music by the bedside and Lydia could rest until closer to breakfast time.<\/p>\n

Anything else you want to add?<\/b><\/p>\n

Yes, I have noticed that Lydia communicates with feelings, more than with words. If we take the time to sit with Lydia, it helps us so much more to understand the person inside.<\/p>\n

Gwendolyn deGeest<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The author explores a situation with an Alzheimer’s patient in a nursing home that can be viewed as disruptive. But upon questioning, the nurse understands that there are options to understanding better what the patient is experiencing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,13,16],"tags":[],"ppma_author":[952],"class_list":["post-3361","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-caregiver-issues","category-caregivers-experiences-ideas","category-diseases-illnesses-conditions"],"authors":[{"term_id":952,"user_id":0,"is_guest":1,"slug":"gwendolyn-degeest","display_name":"Gwendolyn deGeest RN, BSN, MA","avatar_url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&r=g","1":"","2":"","3":"","4":"","5":"","6":"","7":"","8":""}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/care-givers.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3361","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/care-givers.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/care-givers.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/care-givers.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/care-givers.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3361"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/care-givers.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3361\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4774,"href":"https:\/\/care-givers.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3361\/revisions\/4774"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/care-givers.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3361"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/care-givers.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3361"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/care-givers.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3361"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/care-givers.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=3361"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}