Stephanie Mitchell English 101 Essay 1
In the world of healthcare, you never know what challenges to expect. You see I work in a nursing home. I was raised by my grandmother who was a registered nurse for about eighteen years. Two of her daughters followed in her footsteps. I somewhat followed into her footsteps as well. I love working in the medical field. I love the patient care. I do not like the paper work aspect of what I see the nurses having to do. My talent is more working alongside of elders, more specifically with Alzheimer’s patients. I have worked overnights on a locked Alzheimer unit for many years.
Now you may ask me what is Alzheimer’s. Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive neurological disorder that causes the brain to atrophy and brain cells to die. This disease effects the individual’s memory, their ability to think and reason, to make decisions and judgments, mood and personality changes, and inability to perform tasks. There is no treatment to cure Alzheimer disease. Medications and supportive services can be used to help slow the progression of the disease. A combination of these two medications Aricept and Namenda are two of many medications on the current market available to be prescribed. There is no way to predict an individual’s course through this disease. The disease can begin in late middle ages with symptoms of forgetting where you put something, or how to balance your checkbook. Family general practioners witness how families cover up and accommodate for their loved one’s symptoms. Symptoms can vary from day to day but they do progress and eventually can continue to kept hidden. The symptoms become more prominent over time. Many families will choose to manage family members at home for as long as possible with outside services such as home health aides or visiting nurses. Alternate options available include medical adult daycares that also provide day services to give families respite. More often than not elders who have been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease do get admitted into a skilled nursing facility like the ones where I work, because the families just cannot care for the needs any more. The individual may have been wandering at night, or was not able to care for their own basic needs any longer. In the Advance stages of this disease, the complication from the severe loss of brain function eventually results in death from dehydration, malnutrition or infection.
A very important person in my life has been diagnosed with this terrible disease. My maternal grandfather was diagnosed about three and a half years ago. He would have an occasional forgetful thing happen here or there, and now I see him have a hard time find words to say what he is trying to say. I can see he is frustrated and sad because of this, but he would never admit it. He was always and still is a strong and stoic man, the matriarch of the family. The pandemic has the progression of his disease advance a bit quicker with not being able to have the social stimulation and activity he was used to despite being on medications. My grandmother prefills a pillbox for him, but often times has to remind him to take the medications.
Working on an Alzheimer’s Unit, the most important thing is to keep your patients safe. I work 11pm to 7am. The staff has tasks to complete. The primary thing we do is checking on patients and running to call lights, rounding all night. Despite all my years working, and being there to help others family members it never prepares you for your what you will endure with your own family.