This chocolate chip cookie cheesecake looks perfectly divine!  I mean, is there anything so awful that a slice of creamy, decadent cheesecake can’t make it all seem so much better?

Cookietastic

Chocolate cookie gooeyness is good for the social work soul.  Salted mudslide cookies and a glass of cold milk will help wash away the mid-day angst.  Don’t be afraid to spoil yourself now and then!

While there isn’t much more I can do to gain control over my work day for the time being, I’ve been thinking a lot about establishing better boundaries.   I am a fairly laid back person by nature and there isn’t a great deal that I’m faced with that I can’t handle, but every now and again, I fear my easy-going attitude makes my work life a bit crazier than it needs to be.   I sometimes find it hard to balance my desire to be there for residents, colleagues, and clients and my goals for the projects I want and need to accomplish.   When I first started out as a social worker, I used to think work-day interruptions were the norm.  After all, we’re typically dealing with people who are frail, in need of various types of  assistance and reliant on a system that often appears set up to fail in the first place.  Plus, people, along with their needs, can be unpredictable. How can I possibly schedule human need into my work day?

But now I’m starting to think I have to work a little smarter.

Slowly, over the past several months, I’m learning to be a little greedier with my time.  Just because I’m the only case manager, doesn’t mean that every time someone needs something, it is necessary I drop everything.  Every need is not urgent. Some are more important than others, and I like to think that as my experience in this career grows, I’m getting better at deciphering the needs that don’t have to be addressed ASAP.   Phone calls can go straight to voice mail when I’m in the middle of something else.   Chatty family members who show up at my door at 4:45pm, as I’m shutting down the computer and organizing my desk for the next day, can be politely told that I have to go and that we can meet at a scheduled time later in the week.  The door to my office can be closed for an hour each day so I can catch up on paperwork.

Being a social worker is all about being flexible, no doubt about it.  Things happen that aren’t planned and your whole day can turn around in a matter of five minutes.  Real crisis’s can crop up five minutes before you’re ready to walk out the door. It’s what happens when you’re in the field of working with people.

But without setting a few boundaries and promoting respect for your time,  the most rewarding part of our jobs–helping others–becomes a dreaded chore.

What do you do to set boundaries in your work place?

…if I fight it and think positively maybe I can conquer this Alzheimer fellow . It would be a pleasure to laugh at him and say goodbye. Think of what you have achieved in the past years and these thoughts will help. You have raised children, and they have loved you and you are so fortunate. Appreciate what you have. You have to be strong, I realize, but you can do it! I volunteer at two hospitals and enjoy taking people to their destinations in the hospital. I sometimes (actually quite often) joke with them. As I am leading patients upstairs, I will humour them a bit by telling them “I am taking you first to Las Vegas” and then we will go up in the elevator. They always laugh and say, “Oh please!” It makes them feel good and I feel good also. Another casualty of the fiendish Mr. Alzheimer is the family. My family takes good care of me but sometimes I feel they are at fault because they are being overprotective. They mean well but it makes me feel like a nothing. In my case, I am on the borderline of Alzheimer’s. I say this because, I am not that bad. I forget names, that is all! I was advised not to drive but I still feel that I can drive better than all the hot-shots on the road to-day. I have not seen the statistics of my condition and on my next visit to my doctor I will ask him to show me the results of my tests. I still play a great game of tennis, I bowl and do all the normal other things that people do, and yet I have this Alzheimer’s’ stigma. Maybe if they (whoever they may be) could live with me and see how I act daily I wouldn’t be put in this category.

To read the entire piece, check out The Birthdays Continue Despite Alzheimer’s Disease.   It will make you smile.

Its hard to believe that next month marks the 10-year anniversary of the 9-11 attacks.  911day.org is reaching out on a collective level to gather ideas and ways to honor and remember this important day in U.S. history while paying tribute to those that were lost in the attacks. The premise is to draw support to make September 11 a day of service in whatever community, capacity or collective endeavor available.  I think its a beautiful concept.

I’m in my second month of my new position as a case manager in an eldercare facility.  There are also many changes taking place within this organization, which makes my new role a little bit harder to learn.  I know that down the road, things will click into place, but for now, it’s an uphill battle as anyone who has ever been involved in a massive organizational overhaul knows that most people DESPISE change, no matter what form it takes.

I must be odd, because I kinda enjoy when things are in a state of flux.  Sure, cultivating a routine and having a sense of security are important on the job, but I seem to thrive in chaos for some strange reason.  My main issue (or gripe?) in all of this is attempting to facilitate cohesiveness in a setting where many of my colleagues and team members seem prone to getting caught up in negativity. It’s easier for some, to adopt a fatalistic attitude when so much is changing around them.  Many of the other disciplines in this facility have been a part of the organization for more than 20 years and I do believe for a few folks, there is almost a secret wish for the new direction being set forth to flounder.

Yet, on the other side of the “doom and gloom” and  nay-saying, there is a lot of great potential that comes with change.   Change is never all good or all bad.  In the middle ground, there tends to be a huge amount of room for growth.  Perhaps that is why the notions of change and chaos appeal to me. I like knowing that when all is said and done, I will have been a part of an evolution of sorts.

For now though, I have to suck it up sometimes.  I try to set a good example, but it does get difficult to avoid getting pulled into some of the negativity.  There is a lot that is unknown in this early stage.  I make mistakes regularly as I attempt to feel my way around and plow through the maelstrom that has become my current work environment.   I do believe that it all will work out in the end and that I will truly hit my stride in this next chapter of my social work career.

I’ll just have to do a lot of drinking between now and then.

Without accepting the fact that everything changes, we cannot find perfect composure.  But unfortunately, although it is true, it is difficult for us to accept it.  Because we cannot accept the truth of transience, we suffer.  ~Shunryu Suzuki

Answer here

My knowledge base has grown and grown over the years I’ve worked in geriatric care.   More than most anyone, I am well trained and equipped on what to expect and how to handle the myriad of twists and turns that accompany AD.   Still, as anyone will tell you, when it’s *your* close family member who is part of the Alzheimer’s equation, all bets are off.   It’s impossible not to be emotionally invested in whatever happens on this journey.

Granted, I’m a pretty easy-going person.  I try to look for the positive and the lessons that can be found in any situation, no matter how hard, sad or devastating.  (I get this trait from my dad, I believe).  And while my dad is in the early stages of AD at the moment, I realize things can change quickly and that there is no more taking things for granted where he is concerned.

The Alzheimer’s Association has a wonderful online support forum filled with tons of people who either are caring for someone with AD or who are dealing with the disease in some way, shape or form.   I  recently was inspired to add to a great thread where forum posters list what they’ve learned from Alzheimer’s Disease.

Here are just a few of the lessons I’ve learned so far:

• Many people with AD can still keep their sense of humor through most of the disease process. Looking for the humor in those not-so-great moments can be a life saver!

• People will forget what you say and what you do for them, but they will never forget how you made them feel.

• Hugs and kisses go a long way, especially when you don’t know what to say.

• We’re a society that prides ourselves on our “intellect” and we are trained to live in our heads. Perhaps AD is here in part to teach us to live in and with our hearts more.

I wish this disease did not exist, but I continue to remain open to what it has to teach on an individual and collective level.   The lessons are always there, you just have to be open to finding them.

• Cognitive stimulation therapy helping dementia patients in the UK.    In the facility where I work, the recreation department has a daily structured program in place that is very similar to this concept for our more severely cognitively impaired residents.  I can tell you the program  does seem to aid in reducing agitation and some other dementia-related behaviors.  It would be interesting to gauge as to whether or not CST has any effects on improving our resident’s overall cognitive capacity.
• How the Class Act is seeking to set up a Class Program to assist caregivers in managing their loved one’s care at home.  While every bit of financial assistance is a wonderful thing, I would suggest a minimum cash benefit of $100 a day for those with more skilled care needs.   It already costs around $300 per day to reside in a long term care facility, so that would still be a huge savings.
• I love the insights, tips and glimpses into the world of Alzheimer’s Speaks.  This blog is a beautiful narrative depicting the love a daughter has for her mother who has AD and resides in a nursing facility.  Her post about the “surprises” one can encounter when loving and caring for an Alzheimer’s individual is truly touching.
• Only about 30% of adults create an Advance Directive.  Doctor’s need to step it up and encourage more of their patient’s to name health care agents and outline their health care wishes before a catastrophic medical event occurs.   More importantly, Advance Directives should be drawn up before an elderly loved one is no longer able to articulate his or her wishes.
• The American Geriatric Society Foundation for Health & Aging lists tips to ensure caregivers find good long term care placement for their loved ones.