BellaOnline Forums Relationships Married No Kids growing old alone

Hi all!

I had a doctor's appointment yesterday. The doctor's practice was full of old people, so one article I read a few weeks ago crossed my mind.

It said that many old people have no close contact to other people or relatives. So they enjoy going to the doctor, because they can talk to others and somebody pays attention to them.

It made me feel miserable to see all these lonely people...


Juliana

Juliana I use to work for elders services it has to be one of the most emotionally draining job. there are so many elderly people who are totally alone. its sad.

Juliana...At one point in my life, I volunteered at a nursing home to spend time with the elderly. Basically, just talk with them and show them that someone is interested in their day. It was so sad...many of them hardly ever got a visitor from family or friends. My heart broke for them. But, it was nice to know I was giving them some sparkle by being there.

We have an elderly gentlemen here at out ER that use to always come and just sit in the waiting room, when approached and asked what he was doing he responded with "I just have nothing else to do, so I come here".

Long story short, the guy is a really nice person, and we now have him answering phones at the help desk during the day, and he is just so esctatic at feeling involved, and to be apart of something.

This makes me so sad! And you know most of these elderly people do have kids; I wonder so often where they are...

I think as CFers we think a lot about what we will do when we get older. I know my DH and I talk about what it will be like and worry that we won't have friends or other family to help us if we need it.

CF_Gal, that's great that you volunteered and brought some cheer to so many! And Skeeter--what a terrific thing your ER did by letting the guy help out, I bet he feels so proud to have a reason to go there every day. You guys are inspiring

A family friend of ours bought a beautiful expensive home about 5 years ago from a man in his 80's. As she talked to him she realized that even though he had children he had no place to go once he sold his house, his family didn't want to care for him. So she said that he could stay for a while until he got everything sorted out. Turned out the lady's immediate and extended family took a liking to this man and invited him to stay perminantly as part of the family. So they now have "adopted" a grandparent and everyone is happy with the situation. Just goes to show that family does not mean blood related and children aren't always the ones who are there when it matters.

I love the story about the guy in the ER. It's stories like those that boost my faith in humanity.

I used to volunteer in a terminal care ward. There was an elderly lady that I used to read to every day. After a while, I forgot she was in terminal care and enjoyed her company. Btw, noone ever came to see her. She had 4 children in the area but obviously their lives were too busy to spend time with her.

One day I came in and she had passed away overnight. She left me a note with a ring. It was her wedding ring. She had not been able to wear it near the end because it kept slipping off.

Anyway, the first time I met her daughter, she was screaming at me. I just stared at her in shock, shook my head, handed her the ring, and walked away. Then, I walked all the way home bawling.

That poor, sweet lady had no one visit her in her final days.

Wow....I think it's wonderful that there are people who care for the eldery (new vocable *hehe* ;-) )!
@ CF_Gal: It's great that you volunteered and spent time with so the elderly
@Skeeter: What a great story... :-)

A good arguement for those who say that CF people are selfish!!!
But it's a hard job - anyway!!

It's sad that there are so many people without any contact to their kids...

Juliana

Wow....I'm very impressed.
There are so many awesome people in this forum!

Taitinfae, I love your story! These people have a heart of gold!

Anastacia, what a sad story. I feel for you, I would have been shocked too. What a heartless daughter...

I worked the grave-yard shift in a convalescent hospital when I was in high school. My favorite part of my shift was 6:30 AM when I had to go around and gently wake each patient and give them a warm wash cloth. They were so happy to see someone and to feel that warm washcloth. Those that could not move or speak, I just gently washed their faces and their eyes would light up and they would smile. That was so rewarding, to see them smile. I am now approaching my elder stage and think about those lovely people of so many years ago. They loved to chat away in the early mornings. They taught me so much about life and I cherish the memory of them.