I realized that my last update was misleading. When I said that my next event at the Veterans' Home was going to be horse racing it came across like maybe we were going to watch horse races. That was not the case. When my friend and I walked into the auditorium last Monday there were two guys standing there. One was a paid worker and he was very surprised that we were there. Apparently three volunteers was a lot for Monday night activities, which surprised me. There was an oval shaped table in the middle of the room with different color tracks and wholes all around it. This was the horse racetrack. Only about seven or eight people showed up this week for the planned event. I was surprised because I thought the residents would want to get out more and have some fun. The residents that were there seemed to be the typical crowd. They took turns passing the dice around while waiting for the game to start so they could practice. I thought it was funny because to me, dice games are all luck.
At six thirty it was time to start the game. They went around the table rolling to see who would get to go first. The person with the highest roll went first. The residents would roll the die and the number they rolled was how many holes on the track they would get to move. It sounds like a boring game but most of the residents got really into it. They would cheer when they got a high number and would hate rolling snake eyes.
I ended up sitting next to the guy that was not too interested in the game but more interested in having good company. He told us we were lucky to be sitting next to the “oldest man in the room”, he was ninety-six! He had us all cracking up. My friend said she was being a “smart Alec” and he responded with “you knew Alec?!”. He talked about being in the Navy and training new recruits. He was so nice and really nice to talk to. I really hope he comes back next week. I do not know what tomorrow’s game is but I’m really looking forward to it. (:
Reading this post really reminds me of how things are where I volunteer back home. When you were talking about how you were surprised that only a few residents showed up and how it was the "typical crowd" is what I really related to. I help out a lot with activities where I volunteer and I always see the same few familiar faces coming to the activities and no new ones. I don't know if it bothers you at all but it really bothered me! I don't like thinking that those poor old people might be sitting in their rooms alone when they could be having a good time! So what I did was I asked one of the main authority nurses if there were any residents who COULD physically come to activities but just chose not to. Then I asked if I could go to their rooms and possibly try to talk them into just trying it out, or just talking to them in general. I don't know if doing that would be a possibility for you but I know it made a big difference for some residents where I volunteer!
ReplyDeleteThat's a really interesting story. I don't think I've ever heard of horse racing being played like that. I love doing activities like that though because some older people are the most interesting people I’ve ever met. I really loved hearing that someone as old as 96 still has his sense of humor and vitality. A lot of times, I’ve heard that the residents at the Veterans Home are miserable and poorly taken care of. I’m sure that’s just a misconception.
ReplyDeleteLast year, when I was in a service-learning course, I volunteered with a retirement home and some of the people I met were amazing. I met an old woman, no clue how old she was, but she was nearly blind but never missed a single game of bingo. She had certain bingo clothes she would wear and had buttons with bingo cartoons on it. It was hilariously adorable. Since she was blind, one of the volunteers would sit next to her and point out which numbers she had. It was so much fun.
I am glad that you clarified what you meant by horse races because the game sounds a lot more interesting to me than watching actual horse races on a television. I was surprised initially when you said the paid worker seemed shocked to see three volunteers on one night but once you said there were only eight residents participating I could understand his emotion. It was really shocking to me that only eight residents participated in the activity because I feel like the activities are probably the highlight of what happens at the Veterans’ Home. The ninety six year old man you talked to seems like he would be a lot of fun to visit with and I hope for your sake that he does come back next week. I also hope that more residents will come to the event next Monday; do you think that there is anything that could be done to get more people to come to the activities?
ReplyDeleteThe activities are from 6:30 to 7:30 so it is kind of hard to get a good crowd of residents to come. Most of them are either eating dinner or getting ready for bed. Also I have found that that nurses could really care less if the residents go to the event or not which in my opinion is really sad. Last time my friend and I walked around to all the floors to see if anyone wanted to come and they all said no but when our supervisor showed up she found a lot of people that wanted to come. It is sad that the nurses don’t seem to care. Each week when I show up at the Veterans’ Home I always get excited to see who is going to show up and it feels really good when the residents start calling you by your name because they remember you. I am really starting to like going there every Monday!
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