Connecting With Our Most Experienced Port Stanlians

A couple of years ago, a year after moving to Port Stanley, I started looking around for someplace where I could volunteer.

Almost 60% of Canadians have given their time to an organization or cause at some point in their lives. (Stats from Volunteer Canada.) So, you’ve probably done something on a volunteer basis too and know it’s a good feeling. Giving back always brings as much or more to the giver than to the recipient. It makes a person feel useful.

I had just ended a year-long virtual mentorship and wanted something face-to-face this time. The local service club is split into men’s and women’s factions and that didn’t seem right for me. I took a serious look at the Port Stanley Terminal Rail service that always needs helpers. But I can’t lift anything very heavy and I was concerned about that. Missing my parents as I do, I settled on Extendicare, the long-term care home that’s a five minute walk from our house.

TB or Not TB, That is the Question

In order to assist in long-term care, one needs to complete a criminal background check and a vulnerable sector police check. (These apply to other volunteer applications as well.) Long-term care homes also require proof that the applicant doesn’t have TB – tuberculosis. TB is an airborne bacterial infection that many of us wrongly assume is no longer a threat. It’s deadly to people with compromised immune systems living in close quarters.

The TB test involves two separate injections of TB protein under the skin. If you have TB, the injection site will respond but if you don’t, it just fades away. I had my first test and there was no reaction. Back then I had to go to London, a 90-minute round trip, and pay cash for the test. A few days later, I contracted COVID-19 and had to isolate. By the time I was well enough to go back for injection #2 the nurse had gone on a month’s vacation. That put me outside the 30-day window for completing both tests and I needed to start over again.

I thought about it for a while and put it on the back burner.

Begin Again to Volunteer

Last summer, I contacted the home’s Program Manager again and said I’d like to start over. To my delight, they had begun testing for TB at the home. No more driving to London and paying for testing. Wonderful!

Long story short, I am the last person they tested in-house. Rules have changed again and now they’re not allowed to test for TB on site again. (Welcome to the health care system!) Anyway, they confirmed that I do not have TB, my background checks were clear (of course!) and I was good to go.

Then there was a COVID-19 outbreak at Extendicare last fall. The head nurse was beside herself. “We did everything right. Isolated people. Masked up. Fed people in their rooms instead of all together in the dining room. And it still tore through here like a wildfire.” It was weeks before the crisis was over.

Finally, I could visit again. I had my orientation and chose Thursday morning’s Activities Session as my regular time. I push a few wheelchairs, help people settle. Chat to whoever feels chatty. Maybe I’ll take part in the activity, whatever it is. Wheelchair yoga or a word game, perhaps. Sometimes I look for someone who is alone in their room and wants to visit one-on-one. My permissions are limited and that’s a good thing. I’m supervised by a woman who’s been there 31 years and does everything by intuition. I have a lot to learn from her.

Some of the sneakier residents smelled fresh blood and tried to take advantage of me! Two severe diabetics asked me for sugary beverages they’re not allowed to have. I’m grateful to have zero authority so I check every request with someone knowledgeable, first.

Everybody’s Got A Story

The oldest person there is 102 and the youngest is 57. Some are up and around and perfectly capable except for a cognitive issue. Others are bedridden and mostly sleep. And there’s everyone in between. The home’s mission is to give all residents the best life possible according to their circumstances. They go on outings and do all sorts of things if they choose. It’s a clean, kind, busy and happy place.

You simply take people as they come. One woman was extremely delighted to meet me one week and had no time for me the next. Another thought I was a different person every time I passed by her one day, and told me the same story each time. Still another is 88, quick as a whip but trapped in a withering body. It’s emotionally exhausting but I do feel useful. I love to hear their stories. Some have had amazing lives.

Exciting Times for Extendicare

Just days before I started there, Extendicare broke ground on a brand new building. It will allow them to double the number of people they care for in a spacious two-story facility behind the current one; 128 people as opposed to 60. The existing building’s future purpose is still uncertain.

My last in-person volunteer gig was with London Humane Society. I wanted to walk dogs but there was a waiting list. So, I agreed to be a cat socializer. I’d take one cat a time to a little room and play with them. Sometimes I came home with my arms scratched from wrist to shoulder, but that didn’t deter me. However, I quit after it took me 15 minutes to gently get a frail kitten back into her cage. She kept clamping her paws onto the door and squealing in terror because she didn’t want to go inside. I cried all the way home.

But there was a happy ending. I watched that kitten’s listing on the LHS website and she was adopted shortly afterward. I decided that adopting a cat would also be a better way to help and Derek agreed. We chose seniors because most people choose kittens. The old guys and gals linger unnoticed for months.

Soon, we got Spice from Animal Aide in St. Thomas. He had been there close to a year and was overweight and sluggish. We gave him good food and love. He became sleek and active. Miss Sugar followed from the London Humane Society. Now we have Cuddles.

Every volunteer experience brings something good to your life. While I won’t be adopting anyone from Extendicare, I leave every week with a warm feeling in my heart.