Abhilash’s Holiday Story
The Christmas holiday season is a time of lights, celebration and joy … and it’s one of the rare occasions when I feel happy about the winter and the snow.
I work as a Registered Nurse (RN) in a geriatric long-term care facility, where I care for people living with many forms of dementia, disabilities, and chronic conditions that will not improve. I care for people for whom this facility will be their last home.
During the holiday season, family members often take their loved ones home on a ‘pass’, so they can enjoy a full or half day of celebrations. Patients who cannot leave will have more visitors than usual during the holidays, with families and friends joining them for gift exchanges and celebrations right in the facility. It's wonderful to hear the bells jingling, music playing, and families laughing together. It’s as if the facility livens up for a brief period where time is suspended, and pain and suffering can be temporarily forgotten.
But sadly, as I was making my rounds one day, I saw a resident sitting in his wheelchair, all alone in his room, just looking out the window. He was expressionless while looking at the snowflakes. As I read his chart, it struck me that no one had come to visit him, and he didn’t have family or friends listed on file. He had a sibling who used to visit before, but not anymore. He usually spent time in his room and would come out for brief periods for meals.
I sat down with him and spoke to him about what he enjoyed the most about this time of year. As he spoke to me, he told me about his sibling and that he used to look forward to their visits together. But, since his brother’s passing, the holiday season reminded him more than ever of the void.
I listened intently and then encouraged him to come out and join the celebrations. He agreed and I helped wheel him out to the common room with the others. I could see him smile as the staff sang holiday songs with him. I knew his memory of that experience would be fleeting as he continued to live with dementia. But, just knowing that, made his smile and his laughter in that moment even more precious.
Yes, empathy is a big part of ‘end of life’ care during the holidays … and every day. But it’s not enough. It also takes research. You can support ARNET this holiday season with a donation that will help fund RN-led research to advance the ‘care’ side of health care.
Help us Keep Nurses in Nursing. Please donate here.
Kindest regards,
Abhilash Mathew, RN
P.S. Looking for tangible ways your donation can help?
3 donations of $200 will help cover the cost of specialty education in areas like dementia, end of life care, and oncology.
3 donations of $100 will enable a nurse to attend Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS) training
4 donations of $500 will help a nurse complete a specialty certification program in occupational health, critical care, or emergency nursing
$5,000 helps pay for a semester of a nurse practitioner graduate education program