For school, I'm doing volunteer work. I just did some of my hours at a nursing home where I used to work. Don't get me wrong, I love taking care of people, but nursing homes are honestly hard, backbreaking, underpaid work that almost killed my back when I worked for one. Anyway, there are some really senile people who are stuck on this earth.
Oh my god, please shoot me if I ever get that bad.
There was one tiny 90-year old woman who was severely demented. She was either sleeping or screaming hysterically out of fear. Whenever you tried to touch her, she'd scream hysterically, alternating between, "No daddy no!" and "Get out of my house, I'm going to shoot you!" She honestly thought that she was being raped and brutalized. She also had some incredible inner strength, probably out of fear. You couldn't change her diaper properly because she fought so much, and when bathing her, you'd swear that you were torturing her. Even the strong male staff struggled with her. As a result, she got a horrible diaper rash. She also had sharp, long nails that you couldn't cut. Since we're not allowed to restrain people in any way, there's not much you can do.
There was another man who was so far gone that he would eat his own shit. His family was too Catholic to realize that he was gone, and even after a stroke and a code, they insisted on keeping him alive. He would dig in his diaper and eat it, getting it everywhere.
There was another woman who was very out of it. All day long, she would cry and beg, "Please, please help me." The problem was that 1) she did it every day, several times a day, each time forgetting that you comforted her, and 2) If you did try to talk to her, she'd get frustrated and start attacking you verbally and physically. I learned this because she spat in my face and called me a witch. Her husband loved her and would call in to check on her every day, but didn't want to come see her anymore because she'd scream hysterically and cry even if he just went to the bathroom. She'd cry so hard that she would vomit, and she'd be horrible for the rest of the day after he left. At night, she'd scream that "They're trying to drag Helen away! Oh my god, I've got to save her!" That permanent state of stress can't be too good for her.
Seriously, please shoot me if I ever get that bad. Don't resuscitate me. Old people are fragile, and if you do CPR right, you will probably break a few ribs. I want quality of live over quantity.



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