WAGNER GOOD SAMARITAN CELEBRATES NATIONAL NURSING HOME WEEK

I am a Nursing Home employee. I am a caregiver. In the past, I always struggled going to the Nursing Home. We went to visit my grandpa and I never knew what to say, how to act, and as he got to his last days I didn’t like the realization that time is short and death is something we all have to face. Some days, I still struggle and leave work with tears streaming down my face for situations out of our control. As staff, we all do. We laugh with residents. We cry with them. We share in their frustrations. We watch some as their memory fades and even though they cannot remember our names, they know we are there to help them. We are humbled, honored, and we feel privileged to know these amazing residents and for them to trust us during their best times and their worst. I have held someone’s hand as they wept for the loss of a loved one. I have reassured someone with dementia that is frustrated they can’t remember. I have heard stories of love, loss, hard times, and times of great joy.