By Rachel Carrington
Alice sat at an empty table, playing cards by herself. A wispy fringe of gray hair curled around her temples, and though she kept her head down, I knew her rheumy, blue eyes had lost all traces of hope.
While others with varying shades of gray and white hair waited in the lounge with anticipation on their faces, Alice ignored the sliding sounds of the doors. The announcement that visitors had arrived meant nothing to her.
I asked her when she thought her daughter would be coming back to visit, but I didn’t get a response. Once upon a time, her daughter was all Alice could talk about.
I sat with her until the lounge filled up with the families who had come to visit the residents. Then she and I retreated to her room where, with tears in her eyes, she sat on the edge of her bed and played with the fringe on her bedspread.
As a volunteer at the nursing home, I had seen many residents who were cast aside. Alice was not the only one. After five years, her children and other family members felt that visiting her had become a chore. Their schedules were filled with various activities—soccer camps, cheerleading, camping, and beach parties—none of which could include Alice. But instead of trying to find ways to keep her a part of the family, they’d rejected her because her memory was failing. Sometimes, she couldn’t even remember their names. Visiting had become too hard for them.
To read the remainder of this article, visit clmagazine.org/topic/end-of-life/dont-forget-the-seniors. For more inspirational pro-life articles, visit the Celebrate Life Magazine website at clmagazine.org.