During the pandemic, it was hard to see my grandparents. One set of grandparents lives in Connecticut, and the other set lives in canada. Both are declining in health which made it very important for them to stay safe. Along with the border closing and other barriers we faced, we did not see them throughout the pandemic to make sure they stayed safe and healthy. While we could not see them in person, we face-timed with them frequently. The grandparents who live in Connecticut still work so luckily they were able to work from home during this time which made them less bored. My grandparents who live in canada however, do not work and are home bodies to begin with so they just sat at home, would talk to friends on the phone and go for walks around their neighborhood. In the beginning of the pandemic, they were really stressed and concerned not only about themselves but about the rest of us too making sure we all were staying safe. As more information came out and we received vaccines, their stress eased up. I will use this knowledge and experience to help my elderly patients improve their own well being because I now know how stressing it can be to get sick when your body is declining. I know how taxing it can be emotionally for them to not see their families and loved ones. I will use this knowledge to help make them comfortable in any way that I can. I will help keep them safe from getting sicker, but also help them emotionally through this challenging time of being in the hospital. This changes my perspective on aging because it opened my eyes to how much they worry about those in their life.
Lindsey, thank you for sharing your grandparents’ experiences during the pandemic, and what you’ve learned through those experiences that you can apply to your care of older adults – especially in times of stress & uncertainty – going forward.