Angels Among Us
by Veronica Andrews
As Mother to a Special Needs young adult, and daughter of Nursing Home Resident I want to shout from the roof tops! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!
As I wander in and out of the nursing home daily I see aides, secretaries, doctors, nurses, room cleaners, maintenance personnel doing their jobs. But, they do them not only well, they also have and exhibit the personality, joy, smiles necessary for this kind of work. As Alzheimer’s patients extend a feeble hand, they take it and guide them to where they should be. They listen continually to unintelligible babble and stories of long, long ago.
They don't interrupt, don't turn and walk away, and don’t diminish the elderly. They listen, they giggle, they smile and then they resume their job. In a very difficult situation of often end of life gloom, they keep up, keep positive, and keep the atmosphere and conversation as much as possible up.
When I accompany my son to a dentist appointment, I see many other young adults who are in the care of resident assistance, home health aides, and social workers. They enjoy what they do, they do it with class. They expect the very best from their charges and receive a positive and uplifting response. They respect and are respected. They take care with their medical needs and limitations, but they joke, giggle, laugh and interact beautifully with the population of our country that few of us ever see, meet or interact with.
What a privilege it is to visit the places I visit, sit where I sit, see what I see and amid the horrible news of the world, sad bold headlines of newspapers. I get to see and experience the very best of man's humanity to man and woman. Thank You to all who care, I mean really truly care for those of our population and world who truly need.
Thank You for doing your job, doing it well and truly, lovingly caring for those who, some say, are less fortunate than we. Perhaps, they are the lucky ones, perhaps despite their limitations; they get to meet the true angels of this world.