Thursday 28 June 2007

Treating our elders with respect



Yesterday we went out for a drink and piece of cake to celebrate the end of exams and the fact that both the older boys have finished 'compulsory' education.

DS2 has the LA man coming over next week to write a reference for his portfolio and then his home education is done.

My oldest is working in a home for the elderly. It's a tough job and as we discussed his future plans it came up that there are staff who have simply worked there too long.

I too have done this kind of work and was explaining that I think it is just a sad part of fallen human nature that we can forget that those who are frail, demanding and confused are still made in the image and likeness of God. Being old should not mean we loose that image-in fact in the suffering of some of my son's residents we should see Him more clearly; but we don't.

"You need to know when to get out," I told him. "When you stop seeing them as people, and only as mouths to feed and bottoms to wipe, it's time to move on."

I think it is the same in any nursing job, but I think it tends to happen more quickly in elderly care. Partly this is due to the strange attitude we have to the elderly in modern culture. The homes, like the ones I have worked in and my son now works in are full of white people-mainly women. Asian and black families do not seem to put their older family members in a home.

DS1 worked his first night shift last night. It was a fairly quiet one and went well.

1 comment:

Ttony said...

God Bless the eldest! Prayers for him.