| Excellent, compassionate care given at lodge |
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| Local Content - Letters to the Editor |
| Written by publisher |
| Tuesday, 09 February 2010 19:15 |
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Dear Editor, I cannot sit idly by and say nothing when Cypress Lodge, which was my mother’s home for six years, is under attack. I spent a lot of time at the Lodge and was always met by smiling staff who were upbeat no matter what the circumstances. I admired the way they treated the residents, always with kindness, with compassion and with comments that couldn’t help but brighten their day. My mother had been a resident of Cypress Lodge just a short time when she fell and fractured her hip. This was no one’s fault. She simply tripped and fell. She was transferred to the hospital and I drove to Maple Creek to be with her while arrangements were made to have her sent by ambulance to Medicine Hat. The Maple Creek Hospital staff let me stay overnight in ICU with my mother and a staff member from the Lodge came over to see how she was coping. When my mother returned from Medicine Hat she had a bedsore on her buttock. I was concerned about this. I needn’t have been because with the kind of care my mother received at Cypress Lodge, the bedsore was healed within a short span of time. Six years later my mother, who suffered from dementia, was much frailer, but there wasn’t a sore on her body when she passed away at age 95. I felt that I was included in my mother’s care. Staff would accept suggestions, keep me informed when events were taking place, and gladly answer any questions I had. My mother was in “replay mode.” I can’t even estimate how many times a day she said, “Please put me to bed.” Staff were most patient as they would joke with her or divert her attention to some other topic no matter how tired they must have been at hearing that same request over and over and over. I also observed the staff taking time to seek information from families about what the residents’ former lives were like, especially residents with memory loss, who maybe couldn’t tell them. They soon found out my mother was an excellent speller. She wouldn’t be able to tell you what she had for lunch, but she could spell as well as I could right up until the day she died. Staff would often challenge her with words and rhymes and she enjoyed this as much as they did. My brother-in-law was also a resident of Cypress Lodge for a short time. Once again, our family has only good things to say about the 24-7 care he received as well. We feel Maple Creek and area should be proud of the dedication and hands-on care being offered at Cypress Lodge Nursing Home. Sincerely, Doris Bircham on behalf of the Shearwood-Bircham families |
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