Who Cares What Nansi Thinks?

My co-workers are exhausted. I appreciate their efforts so much. Working in a nursing home is more hectic that I ever imagined. I walk down the halls and the call bells are going crazy, the CNA's are running like crazy! The place just hammers.

I always imagined a nursing home to be quiet and peaceful, and maybe a little sad. I was wrong. We're always running. There are not enough hours in a day and I find that I always leave with so much undone. I think the residents pick up on it.

Chaos feeds on chaos. It seems that when administration is stressed, the residents become agitated, thus creating more stress.

Earlier in the week we had a resident whom we knew was dying. This resident was fighting the inevitable. There seemed to be a swelling atmosphere of restlessness throughout the building. The morning and early afternoon was full of oddball things like a meal cart upsetting, two perfectly friendly residents lashing out at each other, family members complaining loudly. It all rose to a crescendo at around 2:30pm. Then suddenly, peace reigned. Everyone quieted down. I remember that time because I had an appointment that wrapped up and I noticed that things seemed to be settling down. I later found out that this was precisely the time our dying resident gave up the fight.

What happens in the atmosphere around us when death is so near? I wonder.

We recently moved an entire wing of residents into a newly renovated section. The old rooms sit empty. There's no one at the nurse's desk. The only person remaining in that wing is a Registered Nurse who has her office there. She tells of call bells going off, sounds of clattering trays, and voices. This wing is an entire floor of the building. There's no way these sounds are coming from any other section of the home. Creeeepy!!!!