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Breathing, Walking, Relaxing and Sleeping can be aided by Chaplains. They are important to people on the mend. This is particularly true for senior citizens.
The content of this article is drawn from one case I handled in Chaplaincy. The person is in her eighties. The work I did with her involved visiting her in a hospital following major surgeries. Then in a nursing home visiting her while she still needed care, but not hospital care. Then back visiting her in hospital when she had a relapse, due to post operative infections. I now visit her in her own home.
She told me in her first hospital stay that her respiratory therapist gave her instructions orally on breathing into a tube. This is to keep her lungs clear, and prevent pneumonia. It is a standard procedure. Her problem is that the therapist rattled off the instructions too rapidly, then left to go elsewhere. The Lady is in the early stages of Alzheimer's. She does not process information well. She has no background in respiratory therapy. I met privately with her respiratory therapist. I asked if she could print out instructions for breathing exercises, leave one copy with the Lady, and one with me. She agreed. In her office, alone we did the breathing exercises until she felt I had them down pat.
Three times daily the Lady and I would do the breathing exercises together. Her congestion broke up quickly. It never returned. In Hebrew, the word, Ruach means wind, breathe and spirit. Restoring her ability to breathe correctly prevented pneumonia, eliminated chest congestion, and helped her to feel better physically, emotionally and increased her ability to concentrate. This included our discussions of a spiritual and pastoral nature.
In her first hospital stay, she had intravenous feeding of antibiotics, electrolytes, nutrients, and pain killers following the surgeries. She had trouble getting in and out of bed, and walking with the heavy metal pole upon which the various bags of fluids were hung. Her surgeon wanted her to walk every four hours, as tolerable. There are many benefits to doing this.
We would go for walks very slowly, for as far as she could comfortable take them. We would stop half way at the visitors lounge. I would lift the pole one handed over the door stop that separated the floor in the hallway from the floor in the visitors lounge. It is the only way for the pole to clear the floor. She liked the view of the park outside the window in that room.
She and I would walk arm in arm to assist her in balance. Among the benefits of this walking were the increased ability to pass liquid and solid waste, better circulation, and the elimination of fluids in her legs that had built up. This fluid retention caused her great discomfort.
In the Torah portion Parshat Lech Lecha, G-d gives the first commandment to the first patriarch Abram. Get up, go out of the land of your Fathers, and go to this land which I promise you (Israel). Each day when she neared her limit of walking, she would ask me to recite this passage with her. It gave her the strength to finish up her stroll. Even in this context, Scripture can be a powerful motivator.
On the way into both the hospital and the nursing home, I would buy a local newspaper, and bring my copy of the Tanach (Jewish Scripture). Following her walks, I would read to her from the local newspaper in those sections of interest to her. She would close her eyes and relax. She liked being read to, and various conditions made it hard for her to hold a newspaper and turn pages. The daily paper kept her in contact with one day being different than the next. It helped her focus on where she is in time. That was of benefit to her. Her memory actually showed signs of improvement over when day and night, day after day was the same.
At the conclusion of the Shabbat (Sabbath) one says the Havdalah prayer. It is a prayer that differentiates the Sabbath from the other six days of the week. When the wine is poured into the cup and saucer before the blessing over it, it is a custom to pour more wine than the cup can hold. The overage spills into the saucer beneath the cup. The symbolism here is for the blessings of the Sabbath to spill over into the week. One blessing of the Sabbath is Shabbat ha Menuchah. The day of Sabbath rest. The relaxation of being read to allowed her to free herself of tension. Access to news that differed day to day established each day where she is on the time line. It provided differentiation.
Finally, sleeping in a hospital is difficult. Staff come and go at all hours of the day and night. They must in the performance of their duties check vital signs, replenish medications and do other things. In a semi-private room, a roommate may be loud, and on a different sleep schedule. Still, sleep is important.
I made sure, during visiting hours, that I was there to walk her to lunch, when she was well enough to do that in the nursing home. She did not have to eat alone, or with strangers. She knew she could count on me for meal company. Even in the hospital each time, I was there in time for her afternoon nap. She would have lunch. We would walk. Then I would read to her from Psalms (Tehillim).
She had her favorites. She also had favorite poems, and short stories. In the dream of Jacob's ladder, the ladder connected Jacob with this and higher levels on the great chain of being. When she fell asleep listening to me read, I would quietly go and see others. I was always back to her room in time for her to see me upon awakening. Getting the proper REM level sleep, and brain chemistry benefits of rejuvenating sleep appears to have accelerated her recovery time. She is back home again. I visit her when and as her and my schedule allows.
Sometimes the best way to comfortably remain in this world is to use the tools from elsewhere in the context of life here. Coupling that with consistent and customized attention from a trusted source is part of this equation.
