Potential Chef and Final Days

One of my favorite things about my past few weeks is my chance at being a 'head chef' of the Morningside Bakery. Here's just a few of the things I've made on bakery day, which is Thursday by the way:

Monkey Bread
Strawberry and Cherry Delight
Sausage Balls
Fried Apple and Peach Pies
Chocolate Mayonnaise Cake
Pineapple Upside Down Cake

Then, on Fridays, I've been making the donut replacement for coffee and donuts for the past three weeks. Here's what I've made:

Crescent Cream Cheese Casserole
French Toast Casserole
And for tomorrow I'm making---Buttermilk-Blueberry Breakfast Cake

Getting to bake quite a bit has been really exciting for me because although I really enjoy baking it's not practical for my health or my budget to bake at the house very often to get in good practice. Thus, this has been a wonderful opportunity for me to work on my baking skills. Just tonight, I learned about lemon zest and had to cream it with butter with only a fork. Blueberries and lemons go so well together!!

We'll see how it the residents like it tomorrow...

I said some of my first goodbyes today. One of my coworkers and a resident that are going to be out of town tomorrow gave me hugs and best wishes today. Like I told them, "I have thoroughly enjoyed my time here and I would stay if only Spain weren't calling my name." It truly has been a wonderful experience that I hope to have again in the future someday.

Coworkers

I have absolutely loved the people that I have worked with here at Morningside. CELTS is a good place to work. I thought the work environment was above average when comparing it with other places, but after working at Morningside they definitely take the cake. Every single staff members from the cooks to the nurses to the executive director have been nothing but nice to me and each other during the time that I have been there. Everyone that works there wholeheartedly seems to love their job and the population they're working with. I hope to be a part of such a wonderful workplace again in the future -- even if that means coming back to Morningside to work! Because the staff get along so well, it creates a very nice environment for the residents. There have been times more than once that I along with others have helped to get something done that was "another department's responsibility," but because we were ready and willing to give our helping hands, the experience was exemplar for the residents despite the obstacles involved.

In fact, one of the receptionists gave me a just-because gift today -- a scent warmer with two sets of scent bars. It was so thoughtful of her and something that I've never experienced before. Sure her and I had talked occasionally as I was walking in or out of the building but I never expected such a gracious act. Employees frequently give thanks and praise for a job well done and when extra efforts are made. I've definitely felt needed and appreciated in my position here. I'm grateful to have found such a wonderful placement!

Lastly, I wanted to mention the laid back yet productive atmosphere that I greatly appreciated.  That's something we never experience at Berea. I'm always thinking ahead. What need to be done for tomorrow? For next week? In preparation for next semester or next year? It's extra busy and tiresome most of the time. If all the stress from Berea is going to turn into a full-time career like that, bring it on Berea College! I can take a few more hits before I graduate! ;)

Ice Cream, Poker, and Orphans

ICE CREAM: On Tuesdays, we have ice cream social at 3pm (right before dinner at 4). The residents love it but many don't eat dinner because we have it right before. I'm still amazed at the amount of unhealthy food that the residents have the opportunity to get and are encouraged to. Several residents, particularly the highly social ones with severe dementia, end up at all of the events. I'm always excited to see them participating but it concerns me that they're eating so many sweets. Sometimes I think about their diets and it seems that they eat A LOT of carbs. Maybe that exercise each day really is doing a lot of good -- although I know that some of them only participate in the eating events so that couldn't really be an explanation.

Let's put it this way: If I were the activities director or the head chef, I would be sure to encourage and provide more healthy options than Morningside seems to.

POKER: Every Wednesday a group of residents come down for poker. They're just as hardcore about it as they are about bingo. It's actually quite funny how upset they can get over little mishaps. Today was my second week leading a beginners poker group. Last week, I had three residents participate. This week, two that attended last week's group showed up again. They both seem semi-enthusiastic about learning how but I think they're more anxious to move up to the hardcore poker group than anything simply because of the social atmosphere that comes with it. Residents in the hardcore group are all cognitively sound and communicate sensibly and normally. The two that are working with me seem to also want to be recognized as such---although it's already clear to the staff that they are.

We'll see how long their enthusiasm lasts and if they show up next week!

ORPHANS: Once a month, Morningside hosts a speaker series. Today was that day this month. Two residents, Ruth and Marie, were the speakers this month. They talked about their father who was an orphan in New York City. Around the age of six, he was taken by train to Centerville, Iowa and raised by an older couple there. According to the sisters, their father was really taken in by the couple in order to take care of them and be a servant for them in exchange for shelter and food. They explained that their mother recalls him saying that he never felt loved by anyone until he started a family of his own. Even then, he wasn't affectionate and rarely expressed his emotions.

We watched a clip about others' experiences with the orphan trains. It's fascinating that so many residents attend these events and still have a desire and passion to learn at their late stage in life. In fact, it's one of the most attended events Morningside has. A passion for learning is an admirable quality and one that I'm sure I will continue to have myself. It's such an important quality in this era of technology and rapidly changing environments!

I hope to update again tomorrow about bridge, my husband, and Thursdays happenings!

Until then,
Megan

Hand Massages and Bingo

Mondays are always full of activities! Before lunch consists of catching up with residents about their weekend and playing a quick game of cards, reading the paper, or doing a little art. Then, at 12:30, I start my dementia activity. This Monday, it was hand massages! I only recruited two residents for hand massages this week because I kept getting inquiries about the wedding (yes, MY wedding!). All the ladies wanted to see pictures, hear about my husband, find out how many people was there, where it was at, and who everyone in the pictures were. To them, it's such a delight to hear about someone else's life. That's one thing that I love about working with the elderly. They're always available to listen. They truly enjoy and value conversation with others. There are exceptions to that generalization but more-often-than-not it's a truth.

At two o'clock, an OT (who went to Berea College!) leads exercise. Lots of residents come down for it. They're seriously dedicated to staying healthy -- which is an inspiration for me. I've spent a considerable amount of time working out and attempting to make healthy choices. Some times I get sick of it and feel like taking the microwave meal way out, but then I think about them and others I've met who are doing so well and make it a priority to stay moving and it motivates to keep up the hard work.

Lastly, Monday is BINGO DAY! The residents are serious about their bingo. Some get very upset at my coworker, Karen, who is in her early 50s, because she doesn't check people's cards when they call 'Bingo!' I get to hear them gripe about it, make angry faces, and roll their eyes at me because they don't understand that she's the one making those decisions. Along with that, I've found that some of the more cognitively sound residents have little to no tolerance for the ones that are dealing with dementia.  I help several residents who are no longer able to play by themselves and others get mad and think that it isn't fair. They think those residents shouldn't be allowed to play but understanding or considering that most, if not everyone, should get an opportunity to be included if they want to be. I know that Ruth and her friend Maggie, two residents with severe dementia, really get excited when they get to choose a prize after winning bingo. It's a really pleasant feeling knowing that I played a small part int that.

A Beautiful Day

The residents have been stuck inside all year so far. So, the past week or two I've spent quite a bit of time taking them outside. I'll take one resident at a time outside for a walk or to simply sit on the porch. Many of them rarely get the chance to go out so when they do, they REALLY love it! Today I took a resident who has pretty severe dementia out...her responses to statements usually don't make much sense but when I took her out, we had a pretty-close-to-normal conversation. It's amazing what stimulation like that can do.

Start of doing dementia activities

Yesterday was my first day of dementia activities week. It went okay. In order for residents to come to the activity, I have to get them from the dining room when they finish lunch. Yesterday, I continued to check on the residents I really intend to target. Each time, they were still eating. On my last time checking, they had already been taken to their rooms and, thus, they couldn't come to the event. That's one issue that I see with this facility (and probably many other facilities). There seems to be little communication between our department and the nursing department. Caregivers and nurses take residents to their rooms, their restrooms, and to get their meds. Rarely do they ever get brought down specifically for an activity. We have to scout them out in hopes that they don't have to go to therapy or the nurse's station.

Nevertheless, I did recruit two people. We listened to a few songs. Then, they wanted me to read the Tennessean to them. One of the ladies in particular LOVES for me to read to her. She thanks me multiple times every time I do. I thoroughly enjoy it as well.

My plan for today is to do hand massage therapy. I am going to use scented lotion and give as many residents as I can scout out and 'sign-up' a nice little massage. I may even play some classical music in the background! I'll be posting an update tomorrow to let you know how it goes.

Also, I still haven't shadowed the OT since last week's update. It never seems to work out. I'm starting to give up on the idea. Daniel assigns me tasks in the morning not remembering that I am supposed to go down and shadow. I have expressed my concerns to him about this several times. Hopefully I'll have better luck in the future.

Until then,
Adios!

Megan