See You In a Bit - The Thin Edge of Dignity

Getty Images/iStockphoto

See you in a bit, he always says, as he leaves my room, after helping me in one of the “Activities of Daily Living” (ADLs) which, because of my disabilities, I can’t perform myself.

I qualify for living in an Assisted Living Facility. Isn’t “facility” a strange name for what’s supposed to be “home like” or, at least, a “community?”But try saying ALC, or worse, ALHL, compared to saying the acronym ALF:  gets you tongue-tied, doesn’t it? So facility it is, even though some would say  sometimes the comparison is apt.

 

Anyhow, getting back to where we were, Ralph may have just wiped my tuchus, or gotten me dressed, or opened a Netflix DVD mailer, or wrote a reminder on my desk calendar, or any of the myriad things he assists me to do, with compassion, grace, and an empathetic heart.

Un fortunately, I won’t be “seeing him in a bit.” Probably never again.  He’s leaving caregiving in our ALF to pursue the career he was educated for.

So, see you someday, my long time caregiver. I can only hope your replacement is as caring as you.

Though there’s never any guarantee.

 

[IStock Photo: R Timages]

Dick Weinman is an AARP Volunteer and Assisted Living Guru. He writes a blog on life in an a assisted living facility.