Misericordia 4

Today included what I'm sure is going to be the most difficult portion of our volunteer work. Today was our day to go play a game with the residents in the severe/profound area of campus. Having already been through 3 full days of working with mild/moderate residents, I think we were all humbled when we entered the severe/profound area. We were used to being with residents who could easily talk and could, for the most part, carry out the tasks that they had been given. Some could do their job so well that they enjoyed talking with us while we worked. However, the severe/profound ward was definitely not at this level.

When we walked into the severe/profound area, we found that this region is more of a hospital setting than anything else. Even though the stereotypical white walls and tile floors were missing, it still seemed like a hospital because of the nurses/physicians areas in the front of each hallway and because of the extensive amount of medical equipment kept within easy access. But what really made this seem like a hospital were the residents living there. I'm sure we've all seen at least one severe/profound disabled person in our lifetime. But here at Misericordia, there are at least 20 in each hallway. Every single resident we saw was non-ambulatory and only the least handicapped could say a sentence or two at a time. When we saw all of them together in their living room, I think we were all a little shocked to see so much imprisonment in one place. (I say imprisonment because every single resident still has the ability to think and feel. Their body, however, doesn't allow them to function at full capacity. This obstacle towards realizing your full potential is what makes me think of imprisonment.) I think that if I were to see any of these residents in everyday life, I would probably be uncomfortable being around them because I have no idea how to treat them. But now that I think about it, I was probably uncomfortable because I had no idea how I needed to treat these people.

After listening to the recreational trainer explain the best way to work with these residents, and after watching them play for a few minutes, I started gaining enough confidence to join the game. In the game, we had to throw bean bags to knock down cones that were set up in front of each of the residents. But since none of the residents could throw a bean bag on their own, we got to help them throw it. Honestly it was interesting to play with them because I didn't know what characteristics I should expect from each of the residents. But after playing with one of them, I actually noticed that when I seemed happier and more excited to play his arm got looser and it was easier for us to throw the bean bag. Also, when I went to throw a bean bag with another resident, I noticed that when I said "Do you wanna throw the bean bag??" in an excited tone she immediately picked up her arm like she really really wanted to play. These incidents prove to me that both having a friend and feeling like you're included is important across the mental spectra because the residents were excited to be there. This desire for friendship is something that we have in common and, like I mentioned earlier, this point of similarity is incredibly important because it helps society at large understand what this population needs. It is only through understanding the population and learning from them that society at large can best serve them.