Philip Y. Kao PhD thesis - Research@StAndrews:FullText

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Susan
Susan’s room was next to the common area. She had a couch facing the window, and a
large television, which she never turned on. The room itself was rather plain with no
framed pictures or any photos of her family members. When I first started working on
the third floor, the fulltime caregivers told me that all I had to do was knock on her door
around 7:45 a.m., to remind her that it was time to get up and get ready for breakfast.
My first encounter with Susan, however, occurred when I was working as a volunteer.
During that time, I escorted her with her walker to various events and social functions
on the main floor. Susan was just over seventy years old. She was always very courteous
and thanked me multiple times each time I helped her. On Sundays, she slept in past
breakfast. She was always ready for someone to take her downstairs to view the local
mass, which was shown on the large projection screen downstairs. Every other
Thursday, the priest from the local Catholic church would come and conduct mass in
person at 11:00 a.m. Susan always sat near the front, no matter what the occasion.
During holiday parties, she would always welcome me to sit next to her. She did not
need the company, but always enjoyed someone to interact with. When I was a
volunteer, I sat with her for short periods of time and ate snacks with her. I also offered
her a never-ending cup of black coffee. She would grab my arm firmly, gripping my
forearm saying, “You are strong and young.” During one of the Christmas parties, I sat
with her halfway through the event. Being a volunteer and quite naïve at the time, I did
not realise until much later that she had a bowel movement. I did not want to interrupt
her fun, and as far as I could tell, no one else really noticed. Therefore I sat with her the
rest of the evening, and as soon as the event concluded, I rushed her to her room
afterwards, alerting the floor’s caregiver that she needed to be changed. As I took her up
to her room, she thanked me and said that she was glad I did not leave her.
After a month of working on the third floor, I began to notice that Susan was not getting
up by herself. She would often miss breakfast. The fulltime caregivers also took notice of
this, and instead of allotting more time to help her up and dressed, they started to forget
about her until just before lunch. Because she did not take any medications in the
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