Funny & Cute Things Our Demented Patients Say - page 7

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  1. Dec 12, '12 by
    Quote from TheCommuter
    I'm the one who wrote the article about how the elderly are devalued, and I am also the author of this article.

    I do not feel that sharing the funny, witty, and cute statements made by demented elderly residents devalues them in any form or fashion. I've previously mentioned that the healthcare workers who care about the welfare of this population are laughing with them, and not at them. There is a significant difference.

    We can either recall their statements with fondness for the elder and a healthy sense of humor, or we can recall them with sheer horror and sadness for their declining cognitive function. The former, in my humble opinion, is milder for all involved, including the residents.
    The nurses at the SNF where my Mom is just love my Mom because she IS so funny and cute. As her daughter I find nothing wrong with it and do see the difference between laughing at them and laughing with them. It makes me feel good to know that she is so well loved by the staff.
    TheCommuter likes this.
  2. Dec 15, '12 by
    Quote from tigerlogic
    Actually my favorites have been the demented who speak languages I don't know at me and we have conversations. I had a woman who would scold me in Vietnamese in the cutest funniest way. A different Vietnamese woman would go around to all the calendars and bulletin boards praying to them and receiving blessings. Maybe it worked-- she could walk better than anyone else in the place.
    In my area there are many people from the Netherlands and 1st-generation Americans who spoke only Dutch at home. Several times I've had to ask an elder to please repeat their request/statement because I only speak English. One lady in particular would say, "Ja, okay. So anyway," then continue on in Dutch...we learned to watch for what she looked at and/or pointed to in order to figure out what she needed. I miss her.
    SoldierNurse22 likes this.
  3. Dec 15, '12 by
    Teeniebert, you must be from West Michigan, too. I've had a few little old ladies that lapse into Dutch as well.
    SoldierNurse22 and teeniebert like this.
  4. Dec 25, '12 by
    I was an activity assistant through nursing school. I worked in an Alz/dem unit where I had brought colored pencils and coloring pages that were for adults (like Thomas Kincaid pics, etc.) and I handed a lady a blue pencil, tapped the sky and said, "here, color blue right up here" and she wrote, in perfect penmanship, "blue, blue, blue" all over the sky.
    tayloramaRN2be, teeniebert, and mds1 like this.
  5. Dec 30, '12 by
    "One day I was guiding Mrs. "A" to the dining room area located within the building. She was a 98-year-old woman born the same year the Titanic sank (1912). At one point during our journey to the dining hall she brought her walker to a pause turned towards me and said, "are you married". I responded by saying, "I am currently not married but I do have a girlfriend". Her response was "OOHHH Shhhucckksss, I thought I had a chance". "

    I wonder if it's the same frail, 79pounder who almost tripped on the way to the dining room because she couldn't take her eyes of the 'handsome young man'.
    She laughed and said "I am not dead yet".
    mds1 likes this.
  6. Jan 1 by
    One of my delightfully confused residents asked me one day "Can you give me any pointers, you know, in the bedroom? My husband is taking me home tonight, and it's been so long I'm not going to remember what to do!"
    teeniebert likes this.
  7. Jan 2 by
    I had 1st year nursing students in a huge SNF for several years, and a number of the residents were happy to be guinea pigs for them. Two of my favorite stories:

    One elderly lady had to have her Foley catheter changed monthly, and I had a male student who needed the experience. I asked her if she minded having a male student do the procedure, assuring her that he had done this properly in lab. She laughingly consented, saying, "Honey, he sure won't be the first man who's seen it!"

    The students were practicing taking a nursing history. We went over the list of things to cover, and one student said, "I don't have to ask her about sexual activity, do I?" And I said, "Yes, you do. Sexual health is part of everyone's lifetime." So she gathered herself together and went in to interview this delightful 84-year-old woman. I lurked outside the door to see how she did. She went through a good review of systems, asked about medications, and everything else, and there was the pause. "Um, how old do you have to be before you stop thinking about sex?" (Interesting approach, I thought to myself.) And bless this old bird, she said, "You'll have to ask somebody a lot older 'n me!"
    mappers likes this.
  8. Jan 9 by
    Quote from BrandonLPN
    Teeniebert, you must be from West Michigan, too. I've had a few little old ladies that lapse into Dutch as well.
    No WAY! I was thinking the exact same thing! I'm from West MI and worked as a tech in a hospital there. I had this happen to me a few times, too.
    teeniebert likes this.

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