Nursing Home Volunteering Experience Paper

After my first volunteering experience at The Gardens at Wyoming Valley, I realized that the retirement home varies considerably from the previous expectations I upheld about it. In my mind, I pictured a clean, spacious, and orderly hospital layout. However, when I walked in the automatic sliding doors, there were two seniors in wheelchairs nearly blocking the walkway by the receptionist’s desk. I also noticed a bit of disheveled appearance in the hallway of the residents’ rooms while I was peering into almost every room trying to find someone I could talk with. There were carts and giant bins sporadically placed alongside the wall near peoples’ rooms, which often caused trouble for numerous of the elderly who attempted to move themselves

Throughout my four hours of service that I completed there I spoke with a woman named Irene, who was recently admitted into the nursing home about a month previously. She had suffered a bad fall while she was home alone after her husband passed away and hurt her shoulder as a result. Irene told me that she never wanted to come to a nursing home, but her niece insisted that she be relocated there to minimize the risks of another detrimental fall. She continued by saying that she missed the independent aspects that came with living at home. This was because numerous restrictions were placed on her life once she moved. For instance, she now cannot even leave the facility without the permission of a family member, rather than on her own accord. However, whenever she would complain about her current situation, she would say that she must keep as much of a positive outlook on her own life. I found this very interesting. This is not only because it related to my own life and the struggles that I am presenting facing. After hearing stories from her childhood and early adulthood, I understood that she evidently had a strong spirit that was not easily broken by the hardships she experienced. I admired her willingness to overcome the obstacles that she has faced throughout her life, and I believe that I need to imitate such