elder care, life, loss, poem, poetry

To My Nurses …..( from the point of view of a very old person)

gentlekindness

** this poem is written from the point of view of a nursing home resident as I have observed that they feel from my many years of working and volunteering  in nursing homes””

TO MY NURSES…

Just because I am old

Does not mean I should be discarded

I was young like you once

Full of life and very big hearted

I raises my babies , just like you are

I loved my husband and drove a car

I had a beautiful house 

that I took care of with love

I baked Christmas cookies

and knitted my grandchildren gloves

I bet you don’t know but I worked really hard

I struggled and fought for my family

I felt things very deeply and cared very much

I had family and friends whose lives that I touched

I once was important and had a real life

Just like you do and you never think 

That your life will pass away just like mine did

You’ll end up with nothing you worked for, in the end

You’ll lose your driver’s license 

and your favorite car too

You’ll lose your independence

and people’s respect 

You’ll watch your spouse die and miss him forever

You’ll dread the phone ringing

because more and more family dies

But you might keep going, on with your life

Even thought there is nothing left that matters

You will not understand why God makes you stay

and does not take you home 

to heaven 

to be with your loved ones

The only people you will have to talk to at all

will be the nurses in the nursing home 

and the patients that do not remember your name

So, please have compassion for me and be patient

Because someday it could be you in my place

All the power you feel now 

and the things that you love

and the ability to make choices about your day

Could be taken away , never to be seen again

and the life that you once thought was yours…

will become a sad memory that no one wants to listen to

Including the nurses that will take care of you

Published by gentlekindness

Searching for meaning, beauty and inspiration, amid the darkness and pain of this existence. Hoping to guide others to find what is true for them, and to draw out the inner light in others.

14 thoughts on “To My Nurses …..( from the point of view of a very old person)”

    2. Thank you for reading. I have seen much worse things than this, over the years. I might set up a blog just for writing about dementia (alzheimer’s disease) , hospice care and nursing home stories. I have a lot of cute and funny stories. I also have a lot of nightmarish stories.

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      1. I’m sure you have! And I think it would be a great idea if you wrote more about that. Because of all that you have seen, you are in a unique position to enlighten many of us who have not had the chance to work in that environment. I really enjoy your work. Looking forward to reading more. 🙂 Take care- phoebe

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    1. Thank you for your comment. I am glad to know that some people care. It is very hard for the elderly, especially when some of the workers do not understand what they go though. I have seen bad things over the years, especially in the nursing home I worked in last year. I might set up a separate blog to tell those stories.
      Than you for reading
      Annie

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    1. Thank you for your kind comments. I am glad some people care. The poor old people are completely dependent on the workers for everything. I care for them like they are my family and a lot of the other aides do also. But I have seen some very awful things over the years. Much worse that this story. Thank you for reading.
      Annie

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  5. I honor you for your compassion. your life has allowed you to get it. that is a good thing.

    that sounds like a sh*tty place for the person to be. i’d call that despair. perhaps this is an opportunity for education. print up 10 copies or so and anonymously leave them at nursing stations. maybe one person will read it and now get it. the compassion in the world will have been increased, if only by a little.

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    1. Thank you. That is a good idea. The nursing home I worked in last year was so much worse than this one. I hated working there. I used to cry on my way home from work. They were heartless to te residents and also to the nurses aides. They covered up th truth to the family members and to the public. I might write those stories but it may be on a different blog. I was thinking about making a separate blog that just addresses issues of dementia (alzheimer’s disease, hospice care and nursing home care. I am thinking about a name for it. I would write maybe 1 post a week because I do not want to split time too much from this blog.
      Thank you for reading. I love my old ladies like my own grandama’s 🙂
      Annie

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