Thursday Doors – Cedar Crest Alzheimer’s Special Care Center

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The Thursday Doors is a weekly challenge at Dan Antion’s site No Facility for people who love doors and architecture to come together to admire and share their favorite door photos, drawings, or other images or stories from around the world. If you’d like to join us, simply create your own Thursday Doors post and then share a link to your post in the comments in Dan’s post.

Three weeks ago, I visited a church, the second church I had attended. My husband and I have settled down at our home and established our routine. I wanted to find a connection in the community. The sermon was well presented, and the message was within my comfort zone. The people were friendly and invited me to go back. I filled out a “welcome” card and checked a box to express my interest in volunteering in music outreach. I received a phone call a few days later. One lady said she has been playing piano to lead the singing in several retirement homes. She needed a long leader so that she could concentrate on playing the piano. I told her I was interested in joining her.

I have joined Christine for two weeks to lead the singing at Cedar Crest Alzheimer’s Special Care Center. There were about 15 residents in the first week and about 20 in the second week. Most of them could walk, but several of them were in wheelchairs. We used the song sheet to do group singing. Although they couldn’t sing with a voice, many of them mouth the words without looking at the sheet. They had the songs memorized.

At the first meeting, I saw a Chinese lady who didn’t “sing” but moved her hands from side to side as if leading the singing. I talked to her in Mandarin afterward. She said she used to play the piano and taught singing. I asked if she had any visitors. She told me her children visited her. She was glad to see me at the second meeting.

My mom had Alzheimer’s disease for many years before she passed away. My dad died four years prior to my mom’s passing. When my dad first passed away, my mom looked at the bed across from hers as if she realized the bed was empty. Soon after that, she couldn’t recognize the family members.

My husband’s mom spent her last two years in a memory care home. She had a difficult time in her final months with crying and refusing to eat. It was hard for us to see her suffering so much. Even when she wanted us to leave, we stayed and kept her company for a short while.

I couldn’t help my mom because she was in Hong Kong. I couldn’t help Lynton’s mom either, because she didn’t recognize me. Going to Cedar Crest Alzheimer’s Special Care Center to lead the residents to sing for an hour once a week is my way of Paying It Forward. I’m thankful for this opportunity.

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Thursday Doors – Cedar Crest Alzheimer’s Special Care Center

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88 comments

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