Last Day at Bethany Silver Lake

# 8

Days are passing by so quick and I can hardly believe that we are done with our Long term care. Its strange to think how in these 8 days, I have become so attached to the residents at Bethany. I did not know it for myself until the day to say "Good bye" came along. My days at Bethany had been very eventful and exciting. Everyday I met a new person, or learned something thing new about a resident that I was not aware of. My work comprised of giving basic care, feeding the residents, taking vital signs, checking blood glucose, giving medications, doing my physical assessment and it goes on. I gained a lot of knowledge by doing this and this also helped me build up my confidence but other than this I built great relationships with the residents. Though I had only one resident to care for, during my hours there I went about greeting and spending time and talking to most of the residents and getting to know them. I loved spending time talking to them and caring for them. On the last day I did not know it would be so difficult for me to bid them farewell. On Friday I made it a point to go and meet all the residents and take leave. Everything seems so much sweeter in the end. It was so nice to hear them say that they enjoyed having us there, or thank us to take care of ourselves, or even that they would miss us. Some of them thanked me for spending time to talk to them. When I told my resident that it was my last day, she was really upset but I told her that there will be others to take care of her, and she replied saying "but it will not be the same." Usually my resident does not talk very much and sometimes she could not even answer my questions and so I did not think that I built a very strong relationship with her, but when I heard her say these few words to me, I felt like though I could not talk to her very much, yet my actions and the care I gave her conveyed my message to her that I was there to care for her and it was so nice to see that she appreciated every little thing I did for her.

My experience at Bethany was great. At first I had no clue as to what to expect but everything turned out well and one thing I learned was that showing and making a person feel that they are loved and cared for can really do great things. On the last day I heard some of them talk whom I had never heard talk before, or someone who never listens to anybody, but listened when I tried convincing him, or someone who always talks in a different language and nobody understands her, speaks to me in English. Its funny to say that on the first day there I did not know that these residents would become such an important part of my life that I would actually say that I miss them.