In the wee hours of the morning, his wife was on the floor next to her bed, convulsing, foaming at the mouth and tightly clenching her fists. All the immediate family members rushed to see what the commotion was all about. I felt extremely hopeless and helpless as I saw my grandfather attempting to aid my grandmother. The hours seemed like days as we waited anxiously in the cold waiting room of the Emergency Department. A Grand Mal seizure, the doctors later explained, was the cause of her illness. Following this seizure episode, she required day-to-day special care that we were unable to provide. The toughest decision we were faced with was placing her in an assisted living facility. That event redirected me to consider a different career path. The rehabilitation center near the corner of Flagler and thirty-second avenue was called Floridean Nursing Home. As I walked into the place, the smell hit me like a wall. The strong odor of cleaning supplies doing a poor job covering up the urine and feces stench. Although the place was well kept, I imagine the staff cannot help that some of their patients unfortunately lose control of their bowels. I recall the sad looks of a few of the residents; it occurred to me that I was their only link to the outside world was it sunny or cloudy? .
Confined on a daily basis to the same surroundings, these patients must feel outcast by society and ultimately their relatives. Seeing their sorrow inspired me to volunteer my time to bring joy and a bit of normalcy to some of these patients. School was out for the summer and I was free most of the time. While volunteering at the nursing home, I had no idea what to expect. I had never worked with the elderly. Needing some guidance led me to speak to the activities director and I started this incredible journey the very next day. Although I could have been doing anything else with my time that summer, volunteering was what I wanted to do.
