Life's Ponderings: Liz LaRue and her Rehab/Nursing Home Journey
My buddy James came rolling into our room. He sat a bit and explained that he was upset. His Amazon Fire tablet was on the blink, so our friend Kenny is trying to do a reset on it. Kenny is our tech guru. (I hope Kenny can work some magic. It’s an old tablet from 2019.)
Sometime later, James was in pain. Sometimes our frustrations are here in our bodies, as we can have so little agency, along with whatever ails us. James keeps his emotions bottled inside. He comes to tell me things going on and then falls asleep in our room.
Now some of that is medication. The rest is feeling you are at rest, no judgment, and you are being heard. My social work soul listens. I have others who stop by my door or room just to sit and talk. We don’t have a social worker here to talk to, though a counseling service does make rounds here once a week. But what happens when you want to talk and the counselor isn’t here?
Residents and patients often share their aggravations with each other. It is inevitable with our current way of handling assistive care at many levels. The patient is a commodity and provides funds for a corporation. But the corporation doesn’t realize that humans need engagement at all times.
Some nursing home communities in Finland, Denmark, and Japan have been setting up nursing home communities where the senior or physically challenged person is treated like a community member living in a community full of help at all levels. There may be a few, just a few, here in the States doing that. But that is a model that requires creativity and full interest in helping a person keep their full agency.
The U.S. has NEVER been a place to have full agency. Capitalism isn’t built for that. Only the corporation has full rights, not people. If we did have it, we would not have had slavery, Jim Crow, rape culture, and toxic paternalism built into the very fabric of our society AND WE WOULD HAVE UNIVERSAL HEALTHCARE! Americans, for some reason, feel that healthcare can only go to the wealthy, deserving people. Blue-collar workers and the poor be damned! That is just sad!
I see that James and Kenny come in just to sit quietly. My roommate and I must create an environment that is comfortable for them to do that. So after James sleeps for a while, I’ll wake him up and remind him that lunch is on its way to his room. I note to him that when he comes back, I’ll put on some good gospel music.
His favorite tune is “Listen” by Marvin Sapp. When he hears that song, the Marine training softens, and his face transforms into a visage of gratitude and grace. I love watching what music can do for folks. Maybe Kenny can do resuscitation of that 8-year-old tablet so James has access to the music of the outside world. No radios here. Tech is the key.
So, if you are a non-tech person, you better practice! When it is your turn in a nursing home, your tech will be crucial for so many things - like applying to and keeping updated on your Social Security account. Technology has made tech key for our Social Security. If you don’t have family or friends to help you in that arena, you are in trouble! Even I had to have help! And I am relatively savvy in the tech department. Lord only knows what happens with seniors with dementia!
So keep up to date on that tech stuff!
My lunch has come - mystery meat with gravy, cauliflower, garlic bread, and apple pie. How Sunday of the Nutrition Department!!
Christine LaRue
Artist Bio
Christine “Liz” LaRue is a clay artist and illustrationist. She is known for her intricately textured figurative sculptures and emotionally illustrative drawings. Chicago-born though also raised in Utah and Idaho, Ms. LaRue is of Creole/Cuban descent. Her art has been influenced by her Afro-Latino heritage. Ms. LaRue’s interests have been in pre-Columbian art of the Olmec, Maya of Mexico, Nazca, and Moche face pots of Peru. This also includes the bronze sculptures of the Ife of Nigeria and Tā Moko tattoo art of the Maōri.
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