A lot has happened since the last time I blogged. I changed jobs and my new career path took me to long-term care (LTC) where I was given the opportunity to experience a whole other side of nursing. Acute care nursing had its challenges, and I enjoyed every one of them. However, life changes occur as we get older and in lieu of that, so did my career path. In December of 2020 I accepted a position in a nursing home - it had been 12 years since my last stint in LTC. I was very excited but also very nervous. What if I didn't like the work? What if my new co-workers didn't like me? I also worried about having to learn all the different tasks that went with the new job. What I hadn't thought about was all the physical differences between my old job and the new one. I basically went from a desk position to a floor position and was no longer getting only 800 steps a shift - I was now averaging around 5,000 steps each shift. The other problem . . . elderly people are always cold - the thermostats were set to a balmy 74 degrees. Holy crap! I am going to talk about some of those changes as I slowly sweat to death.
Connections: I forgot how much I enjoyed interacting with the elderly. When I was growing up, my 70–80-year-old neighbor lady was one of my best pals. I would run across the yard and go visit Dena whenever I had the chance. Sometimes my sister would come with me. Dena lived in a big old house and sat in her rocking chair much of the day, looking out the window while she was crocheting. Her sister, Laura, also lived with her. Laura was blind but boy could she play the piano and sing. I learned how to play Rook, was introduced to the joys of piano playing, and was fascinated by the endless miles of thread being crocheted into beautiful works of art. Dena liked to crochet large tablecloths with intricate patterns and doilies so dainty they looked like lace and spider webs. Their house had ten-foot ceilings, hard wood floors, crown molding finishes, stained glass windows, and built-in cabinets that stretched from floor to ceiling. There were beveled glass china cabinets, with pillars reaching up to the ceiling, that were filled with knickknacks and other wonderful treasures to look at. Both ladies were still active in their advanced ages - Dena was a retired nurse and she drove a big old red vintage car - us kids used to call it a land yacht. She would get in her car, rev the engine, and if it was possible to squeal the tires on gravel, she could have done it. She drove like a bat out of hell. She once rode with my mom in our family car and at one point the window started to make a whistling noise. Dena asked my mom how fast she was going, and mom replied that she was driving 55 miles per hour. Dena commented, "Oh, my car doesn't whistle like this until I get it up to 80". That comment pretty much sums up Dena's zest for life.
I was flooded with memories of Dena and Laura as I continued to learn the different aspects of my new job. Over time I developed a great rapport with the staff and came to love and be loved by the residents. When residents passed on to be with God, I mourned but wasn't stricken by grief because I know that before they died, I made a difference in their life no matter how short their time with us was. I developed real friendships with many of the residents while learning their life stories. I love to travel and many of the residents worried about me when I was on my trips while at the same time looked forward to getting e-mails and updates on my adventures.
Fast forward 20 months . . . life changed again, and I have made another career change. This time I am taking on the role of care coordinator at a sister LTC facility. I has been 14 years since I last worked at this site and I am both nervous and excited to take the next step forward in my career. I won't have as much physical hands-on interaction with the residents, but I will have a very important role in making sure they get the best care possible. I just completed my first week of orientation in my new job as Care Coordinator, and I LOVE IT! The skills and experience I have gained over the years have been extremely helpful and I am still able to create that long term connection with the resident that was missing when I worked Acute Care. I believe in the holistic approach and working with residents and their families to develop the best plan of care for everyone is a huge part of my new job. I have been able to reconnect with prior co-workers and the job itself has consistent hours that do not require weekend or holiday shifts to be worked. The physical demands are less, and I can appreciate that as I am getting older and find that I have to slow down some . . . just a little :)
I anticipate that this job will be my final career change until I retire, and I am okay with that. The road always twists and turns but eventually we end up where we are meant to be. This journey started the day we moved into the big green house, and I looked across the yard to see a big boned, white haired lady walking toward my family to welcome us to the neighborhood.
Life is good, change is good ~ Daemon
