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

the trips that she remembered fondly was a cruise to Alaska. She told me, “I come from
a plain background. Meeting my second husband was the best thing that ever happened
to me.” She did not have a child with this husband, but had a son with her ex-husband. I
saw him a few times, and he did not appear to have a job. In fact, during one of his visits,
I overheard him saying to his girlfriend in the hallway that he was there to ask for a
little bit of money.
As time went on, Adorna began to have trouble sleeping. Her distress was palpable. She
would sit up all night in the common room shaking from the cold without any covers.
Apparently this did not worry the third shift caregiver. When I came in on those early
mornings and found her shivering, I walked her back to her bed. I was quite aware that I
was actually tucking her into bed, and reassuring her that I would not forget her. I told
her, “You have another hour of sleep. You didn’t sleep at all and you need sleep.” I
turned off her room lights, and attempted to shut the door, but she used her walker to
prop open the door slightly. I asked her if the light bothered her; she said she preferred
it that way. On another occasion, Adorna was wrongly blamed for taking the clear waste
bin bags that the caregivers stashed away in a drawer in the common room. When they
disappeared, the caregivers said it was Adorna because she was the only one hanging
about in the common living room late at night. Eventually, the caregivers found out that
it was Erin, Adorna’s neighbour, who was hiding away all the bags. Erin was under the
impression that she was staying at a hotel, and since she could not find her luggage, she
needed bags to pack up all of her stuff.
One day, a new resident named Brad moved into Adorna’s section at the end of the hall.
Brad and his wife moved to Tacoma Pastures together, but they were soon separated
for reasons unbeknownst to us. His wife underwent some kind of surgery and was now
in the rehabilitation and health centre of Tacoma Pastures. Because of some Medicare
issue, they could not be in the same room together. Brad’s wife needed skilled nursing,
and he suffered from dementia. There was no room in Tacoma Pastures that could
accommodate both of them together financially. As a result, Brad was left in Memory
Care, with the understanding that he could see his wife whenever he wanted.
Unfortunately, this was not the case. Because the caregivers could not leave Memory
Care for long periods of time, someone from social services or the recreation staff had to
take Brad over to see his wife. This happened only once every third afternoon. Brad and
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