"And now the end is near. And so I face the final curtain, I’ll state my case of which I’m certain. I’ve lived a life that’s full, I travelled each and every highway, and more, much more than this. I did it my way," Frank Sinatra, 'My Way'
We had such a wonderful experience on the 7th of August with an unexpected change in the weather. We were all busy in OT with various activities when the first flakes of snow fell. I took the bravest resident out for a bit of sensory stimulation :) His face lit up as he looked up and saw the tiny flakes falling down. He remembered his first experience with snow. "I can remember being on a farm when I saw snow for the first time. I forgot how beautiful snow is."
The grounds of Elphin Lodge turned instantly into a Winter Wonderland.
Another bunch of people who really enjoyed the snow were the enthusiastic third year Occupational Therapy students. They were immediately out in the cold, running around and catching as many snowflakes as they could.
Zainab, Nicole and Fae enjoying the snow (and freezing to death).
Winnie was very happy about the snow.
Some staff members enjoyed the snow a bit too much and might have ended up with a bit of flu
(so worth it).
Even though the residents did not make snow angels, the sisters on the ward made them all aware of the beautiful scenery outside and there was a kind of magic in the air that only snow can bring...
On the 10th of August, six Grade 10 scholars from Germiston High School came to do some volunteer work at our care centre. They were doing this in honour of Madiba's 94th birthday, but they decided to give a whole day instead of the normal 67 minutes.
In the morning, they made popcorn for the residents for the Friday movie (Meet me in St Louis). They served the popcorn and warm blankets and made sure the residents were comfortable for the movie. They then came to assist with the group in the Alzheimer's and Dementia Ward where the residents really enjoyed their company. They learnt a bit about sensory stimulation and how you can use it to stimulate a resident living with dementia. They soon started dancing with the residents who were able to do so.
They then had an hour to plan a concert for the afternoon and they really put a lot of effort in. The concert started off with an adapted version of "Amazing Grace" they worked out. They then read a selection of beautiful poems to the residents and ended off with a dance number. They performed this concert in some of the wards and their audience was very appreciative. They sang along with Amazing Grace and gave the students a big round of applause after the poems and dancing.
Thanks to Rumbi, Lerato, Nonhlanhla, Busiwe, Mosa and Siyabonga for the time they gave to do something special for the elderly. We really appreciate this!
On the 17th of August, one of our residents, Mrs Marjorie Gittings, turned 90 years old. This milestone was celebrated through a special tea in the Riverlodge 2 lounge. OT was closed that morning as we were all invited to celebrate with Marjorie and her family.
This beautiful birthday tea reminded me how each and every resident has a life story. Sometimes we forget that when we spend time with the residents. We see them when they come to the dining room or to OT or the concerts and hear bits and pieces of their memories and experiences, but we never truly realise that they all have their very own special story...
On Friday, I saw Marjorie in a different role. I saw her as a mother and a grandmother and I could see how great she must have fulfilled those roles when I listened to the beautiful tear-filled speeches. I saw her as an active church and community member and heard the testimonies of her friends and fellow church members about how she changed their lives in a unique way. Her life story became real in front of my eyes and I was amazed by what I saw.
Let's never forget to find each resident's story and treasure it and make it part of our everyday interactions with them.
Happy birthday Marjorie. May all of our stories one day be as beautiful as yours...
Marjorie and her beautiful card made for her by the church members.
Marjorie's family - from daughter through to great grandchild.
On the 12th of July we had our first Eden Alternative training run at our care centre. The course, presented by Rayne Stroebel (international, regional co-ordinator of the Eden Alternative), was called: Open Hearts, Open Minds.
We looked at the 10 Eden Alternative principles:
1. The three plagues of loneliness, helplessness, and boredom account for the bulk of suffering among our Elders.
2. An Elder-centered community commits to creating a human habitat where life revolves around close and continuing contact with plants, animals, and children. It is these relationships that provide the young and old alike with a pathway to a life worth living.
3. Loving companionship is the antidote to loneliness. Elders deserve easy access to human and animal companionship.
4. An Elder-centered community creates opportunity to give as well as receive care. This is the antidote to helplessness.
5. An Elder-centered community imbues daily life with variety and spontaneity by creating an environment in which unexpected and unpredictable interactions and happenings can take place. This is the antidote to boredom.
6. Meaningless activity corrodes the human spirit. The opportunity to do things that we find meaningful is essential to human health.
7. Medical treatment should be the servant of genuine human caring, never its master.
8. An Elder-centered community honors its Elders by de-emphasising top-down bureaucratic authority, seeking instead to place the maximum possible decision-making authority into the hands of the Elders or into the hands of those closest to them.
9. Creating an Elder-centered community is a never-ending process. Human growth must never be separated from human life.
10. Wise leadership is the lifeblood of any struggle against the three plagues. For it, there can be no substitute.
Rayne talked to us about each of these principles and how they can be applied to our home. The Eden Alternative is based on the person-centred care approach that we had done training on earlier in the year. Again, it looks at getting to know the individual and focusing care on individuals' needs, rather on what we think might be good for most people.
There were lots of laughs during the training, as Rayne is a very entertaining speaker, and also a few tears while we watched some of the beautiful videos he showed us.
The video below is a beautiful example of how you can reach even the seemingly unreachable people with a person-centred care approach.
Completing
the course highlighted everything we have achieved so far to align with the 10 Eden
Alternative principles ― something we are very proud of! It also served to make
us aware of the areas where there is room for improvement.
We are excited to
move forward and work together to make our care centre home to each individual
who passes through our doors.
From left to right: Magda Pienaar (co-presenter), Rayne Stroebel (presenter and international, regional co-ordinator; Eden Alternative), Sylvia Birkhead (director; Eden Alternative) and Charlene van Zyl (Occupational Therapist; Ron Smith Care Centre).
Rand Aid staff member Tanya Switala was so touched after our recent Eden Alternative training, that she decided to bring her little girls to visit a few of our residents in OT.
As mentioned before, the Eden Alternative emphasises that contact with children is very important in caring for the elderly as it brings life to the care centre as well as spontaneity and variety.
We had a wonderful afternoon with the two special girls who came to visit: Kirstynn and Caitlynn. They jumped right in, assisting me and the residents that came to the group. They were soon walking around, taking different coloured papers to the residents to let them choose what they wanted to use during their OT session. They chatted and giggled and the residents loved having them there.
Here are some of the photos:
Mrs June Lane was very happy to have some young company to entertain her.
Kristynn (Elma Park Pre Primary School) (left) and Caitlynn (Dunvegan Primary School) (right) showing off their work.
Last year we celebrated Mandela Day with a knit-a-thon. We had people from the retirement village as well as from the care centre knitting together for 67 minutes. We tried to knit as many squares as possible in order to make warm blankets to fight off the winter cold. It was a lovely and enjoyable morning. After that we decided to try and do something every year to celebrate Madiba's wonderful life; especially since he is in the same phase of his life as many of our residents are here at the Ron Smith Care Centre.
Photo from the Knit-a-thon from 2011.
This year, we decided to put the knitting needles away for a bit and invited a few pupils over from St Mary's School in Waverley for a visit.
This turned out to be a wonderful morning. The school girls came just after 10. They immediately lit up the hall with their vibrant chatter and laughter. They found a table to sit at and started interacting with the residents. It was so special to see the joy on the residents' faces when interacting with these young girls. They iced some cupcakes together and enjoyed a cup of tea while getting to know each other a bit better.
The choir, consisting of grade 6 and grade 7 pupils, then entertained us with some beautiful songs - ranging from a few classics like 'Somewhere over the rainbow' to some African songs like 'Kwela Kwela'. Old and young then joined together to wish Mandela a happy birthday.
Here are some of the photos:
The girls from St Mary's getting ready for their visit.
Getting the ingredients ready for the icing of the cupcakes.
Mrs Frieda le Sueur enjoying a bright pink cupcake.
Helen Petrie (Complex Manager) helping to dazzle up Mrs Erica Behla's cupcake.
The choir kept us entertained with their beautiful songs and funky moves.
Listening to the music.
Mrs Noel Tilney was in her element as she shared all her life stories and wisdom with the young girls.
We had a wonderful morning together and the residents spoke about their special visit from the girls for the rest of the week...
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