Sharon placed her husband in the nursing home after he started displaying advanced symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease. She cared for him at home for years before that, but his wandering habits and occasional combativeness became too much for her to handle.

While he was at home, Sharon made sure her husband was comfortable. She read the newspaper aloud to him every morning, made his favorite meals, and covered him with a blanket when he fell asleep in his easy chair.

Now that he was in a nursing home, she visited him daily, read the newspaper aloud, and stayed for the meals to make sure he was well fed. She talked with the nurses about his advanced condition, but since there is no cure for Alzheimer’s disease, she eventually came to grips with his prognosis.

Family members occasionally visited Sharon and her husband in the nursing home. Their busy schedules kept them from coming by as often as Sharon had wished. She felt alone but appreciated the help of the nursing home’s staff who cared for her husband.

It troubled her when she saw that other residents in the nursing home never seemed to have visitors. After her husband died, Sharon continued to visit the nursing home’s other residents. She had gotten to know many of them during her husband’s illness.

She knew her visits could never replace visits by their family, but she felt that she was contributing something to their lives. She would tell them about her husband and ask them about their families, and about their past.

That was many years ago. Sharon’s health also deteriorated, so much so that she also had to enter a nursing home. Sharon’s children lived far away and couldn’t visit her often. It seemed sad that someone like Sharon, who visited so often with nursing home residents after her husband died, didn’t have many visitors herself.

The nursing home staff checked on Sharon as often as they could. However, their job required that they visit with and care for all the residents. That took time away from their time with her.

Sharon was a saint for all the time she spent visiting other people in the nursing home. She has passed on now, but she won’t be forgotten by those of us who saw her dedication to the residents of the nursing home. We need more people like her, people who are willing to spend time with others who aren’t doing as well as we are.

###

Return to Lessons Learned