Most of you know that I work at a Long Term Care Center, or a Nursing Home. Many people think this is a depressing place, but although there are sad days, we really have a lot of fun. We have some residents who are alert and oriented. They may be there for a short while, receiving therapy while recuperating from surgery. Others have dementia and may be very confused. We enjoy getting to know all of them and it makes each day different!
I want to share something that happened at our place last week that made all of us laugh. Some of the residents who are confused, are not safe in walking on their own. Because of this confusion, they may take off on their own, forget their walker, or do other things that put them at risk for a fall. One thing we do to prevent this is have some people wear alarms. These alarms attach to the residents clothing with a clip and the alarm hooks to the wheelchair or bed. If the person tries to get up on their own, the clip separates from the magnet on the alarm and it sounds.
One of our ladies is not happy with this. She sees no reason why she shouldn’t get up on her own and forgets she has fallen while doing this. She frequently takes removes her alarm and has thrown it across the room a few times. This past week while she was in the bathroom, she decided she had enough of it. When the aide was standing at the sink, she grabbed the alarm, and before the aide could get it, she threw it in the toilet and then flushed it! She then said “There, how do you like that?” This was funny, but it was made funnier by the fact that the alarm got trapped in the plumbing and kept sounding until the maintenance man removed the toilet and could get the alarm out.
You just have to love feisty little ladies!
35 comments:
Hahahahahaha!!!! I love it! The feisty little lady and the idea of a toilet alarm!!
LOL, Mari. She probably figured if she flushed it that no one could get it back. yes, love feisty little old ladies.
I'm glad you enjoy your work. You are a special lady and one that is needed in the Center.
Blessings,
Mary
Believe me, if my Aunt was still living and in your nursing home that is what she would do, I'm sure. Love it!!
Hhahhahhaha...yeah, you gotta love em. Your post made me smile all the way through. Dad wears one of those alarms too. I have set it off several times by wheeling him out of the area he is suppose to stay...but I break him out to give him some new scenery. He likes to look at the flowers and his patio does not have them. Thank you and Bless you for the work you do my friend.
BWWWAAAHAHAHAHAHAA Oh that's hilarious! I'm just picturing my 93 year old grandfather doing something like that when she was in a similar facility. You just gotta laugh! I'm telling this story to my mom and and her sisters...they will get a kick out of it!
~melody~
I like "spunk". She has "spunk"!!!
I am wondering just how many things this lady has thrown in her lifetime? Of course, she will never remember that she did this. Poor thing.
Takes a very special person to do what you do. Thank you for being special.
Love it! I used to work with nursing homes - yes, there are some very humorous moments. :)
Ohhhhhhhh, this is just too funny. I don't think of the special care facilities for aged are sad in any way. For some, ya...they've lived a long time, but they are still someone to love even with dementia or whatever. Then, there are others like this 'flusher'. She's a hoot. Like my 98 year old grandfather...in a home too, he used to chase the nurses all over the place. I loved watching him. You brought back some very fond memories for me today.
that's awesome. i mean obviously not for the poor maintenance guy. or for her well being in the future. but i love spunky ladies - and the older ones are the cutest!!
That's too funny. I came over here by way of Sandra's blog to get your chocolate streusel bar recipe and have been enjoying your posts.
I worked in LTC for 3 years(and sometimes working in the hospital it still feels like I am there) and can totally relate with your story.. that is too funny and the fact it kept going while stuck in the plumbing. Good luck getting another one back on Ms. Feisty lol...
I could just imagine my mother doing this, she pretty much did these sort of things in her own home!
You are so special. If people knew there were your kind in nursing homes caring for their loved ones...they would rest a lot easier.
I can just see it all happening - how funny is that!! Still laughing and smiling!!
Happy weekend.
Thank you for that, Mari! I can just picture that little feisty woman doing that:)
Oh my goodness! This is so funny. I love that you are there with the little old ladies and men! I know you bring them joy and cheer : ).
Cracking up here! OHGosh that is hilarious.
LOVE, LOVE LOVE IT!!! I love those spunky old ladies! Good for her! And you're right, the part about it blocking up the plumbing makes it all the more funny! Thanks for sharing it, Mari! I definitely needed a laugh after the crazy two days I've had at work!
Yeah that was really a good one, did you know that alarm kept going off all night long inside the toilet!!!
You do have to love the spunkiness of that resident. She knows what she wants or doesn't want!!
Jane
I love it!
We can only hope to have half that much spunk left at her age.
Yeah, I heard that it was still going off the next morning! Our poor maintainence man! What a day :)
Oh, that was a cute story:)
I made your Sweet Treats again this week, but I made them for Valentines, pink, red and white. They cam out cute. I posted them on my blog if you want to see. I also mentioned you again...LOL. People are going to think I am obsessed with these little candies...LOL. Happy Saturday, Mari!
Julieann
Oh, this was Dave's 102 year old grandma! She was so feisty that she would stick her tongue out at the nurses and stuff like that. They finally got her number and started to do it back at her.
When she questioned what heaven would be like she made sure we all knew that, "They don't play poker there!" She loved her poker games!
Feisty for sure!
And I bet she wasn't the least bit chagrined, was she? lol
My daughter worked for the senior center in our hometown for four years and often came home with funny stories. I hope I grow into a funny old lady and not a grumpy one!
This is funny, Mari, but I am sure that the actual incident is much funnier compared to the written version of it.
I love it when God gives us circumstances that serve as comic relief to give us a break from our daily routines!
Thanks for taking time to share it with us...
Love
Lidj
*smiling* ...
my grandmother was feisty like that ... right to the end, at 93 ...
blessings on ya!
Heeeheeehe! Ya'll had me at the cartoon! "Not at the same time!" I think I will be one of these feisty little old spunky spirits!
Have a great day in the Lord dear one.
That's hilarious!!!
How Funny!!!!! It brought back memories of when I worked in a nursing home as a teen.
Too funny! I guess she got her point across. LOL
Hugs!
Kat
Oh, Mari, That's so funny! I used to work in a nursing home and I can just SEE it! Lol! And yes, we loved them all, fiesty or not. :)
What a cute post. My sister was in a nursing home for almost five years and my favorites were always the fiesty old ladies! Thanks for a nice memory and a laugh.
Oh, Mari, that is funny, and I do love feisty little ladies. I don't know how funny that alarm going off until the toilet was removed would have been...depends on how loud it was!
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