Continued Day 08 (visit to Old Age home)
This blog is in continuation with the earlier one about the visit to an old age home.
The visit was overwhelming where I had mixed feelings about it. At some point of time I was upset to see the pathetic condition of our elderlies in the society and what there own children have done to them and the other feeling was to see those faces smiling when people come and meet them.
Introduction: Sri Sainath Old Age Home Society (Regd. No. 229/2001) was established 15 years ago as a single shelter old age home in the outskirts of Guntur District of Andhra Pradesh, India.
Currently it accommodates around 30 elderlies, from all economic and ethnographic backgrounds from around the state. Some of them are there since the foundation of this place.
Following is the general activity map of the elderlies in the old age. The elderlies have been segregated according to their gender and mental stability in different wards.
There are private rooms for elderlies as well, who are from strong economic backgrounds but are considered a burden on their families as not being productive anymore.
Some of their children are based abroad and they offer good fundings to keep their parents here.
Some of the lucky elderlies who have their family members, they do come once in a while to visit them.
About the people: Most of the elderlies suffer from Dementia and Alzimer. Some of the cases are severe, therefore they have completely lost their memory, which limits their day to day activities.
Health Conditions: elderlies have some cronic health issues as Dementia, Diabetics, arthritis, Respiratory problems, among others.
Some of them were bed ridden, therefore they need special care as they are more prone to secondary infections(like bed sores, diaorrea,etc).
The problem accentuates as the elderlies are not able to communicate their health problems, therefore it is important to track their health. In most of the cases this results to severe health issues like cardiac arrest, asthama attack, etc.,
Environment: the oldage was lush green with fruit bearing trees like mulberry, mango and jackfruit.. which was cool and shady during the day. Away from the hustle and bustle of city life, it was a peaceful place.
There were varieties of swings, cows for milk, coconut trees and birds.. making it a interesting place. A permanent doctor along with two-three compounders were appointed to take care of the elderlies.
The elderlies were using some kind of basic aids like wheelchair, cane, walker, inclined bed, etc., Adult Diapers were being used as to prevent them from spoiling their clothes and bed.
Almost all of the elderlies were Telugu, some of them had hearing & talking loss. therefore communication was a major problem there, Body language proved to be useful to communicate and understand eachother.
Some who were healthier than others took care of their peers, like cleaning their clothes, cooking food for them, helping them to eat as well! Which made me smile, as to see how they come together to help each other, contributing their abilities and co-exist happily. :)
