Jack and the Beanstalk, and Other Crazy Tales

Well I'm happy to report that the weekend's group went much better than anticipated. I will say that our boss' presence did make some of us anxious or uneasy, but for me I ignored it and went along with the flow of the group. I was paired with a woman named Dympna. She is 50 years old and lives in a hospital in Baldoyle. Dympna has a sad story (not to be talked about here) but suffice it to say, CASA is her family, and has been for 30 years. She has a severe intellectual and physical disability that limits her to a chair and no speech. But Dympna has awareness of what is around her and understands most things, we are pretty sure. The best way to care for her, in my opinion is to simply be with her and constantly give her tea. :) Although one morning I left my coffee near her and she grabbed it and drank it all so fast that some spilled down her clothes! We've never known her to drink coffee, but I guess we can always learn new things about our members. She often asks for more tea by grabbing your arm and forcing her cup into your hand. There are two problems with this. The first being that it simply isn't good for someone to drink six cups of coffee or tea within an hour. The second reason is that half of the time she wants to just hold it in her hand until she gets bored with it and then proceeds to spill it on the floor. After a few days of cleaning up spilled tea I was getting a little tired of it. I was pretty sure my boss' head was going to explode when, after a full day of cleaning up spilled tea, I made the joke, "Dympna wants more tea. The floor is really thirsty tonight!" Honestly, sometimes you have to make stupid jokes or vent about something in order to let it go and move on. Anyways, my time with Dympna was good. She's very easy to care for and it was actually nice to just be a presence for her. She deserves the love and attention that CASA gives her.

Among the group, there were three of my favorite members: Michael, Shane, and Julie. Michael is fondly referred to as "Happy Michael." I've probably written about him before, but I'm gonna write about him again. :) He has a very limited vocabulary that includes "happy" (always with a thumbs up), "ABBA," "hiya," and, my personal favorite, "leggy." Every time someone walks by him he says "Hiya!" And he loves being in the house so much that he'll just randomly say "Happy!" with a thumbs up countless times. It is impossible to not love Michael or to be unhappy when he is near. Shane is my age and he is completely deaf. He writes and signs, which allows him to be an active part of the group. I really like hanging out with Shane, and I was excited for him to be in the house. He was supposed to be with me at the Christmas social but he got sick. Julie is an exceptionally nice person. She lives with her big family and never gets the attention she deserves. She is so sweet and thoughtful of others. With a bit of coaxing she sings for us. Her two songs include a Christian song "Totally Yours" and an old country song called "Blanket on the Ground" about an old married couple that wants to bring spice back into their relationship. It is hilarious! She is wonderful.

All of the worried about the six wheelchairs was not warranted after all. Everything worked out okay, in spite of our anxiety. We all agree that it isn't ideal, but now we know we can work with it. The real problem was having so many people that needed a nurse. Sharon couldn't be with everyone at all times. Mona had several seizures throughout the weekend which left a few other epileptic people alone with their carer. We have no training on how to deal with an epileptic attack. So that issue needs to be brought up before we do this again.

On our weekend, we all relaxed as usual. Sarah sent me "Tommy Boy" and "What About Bob?" on DVD so we all got together to watch them. It definitely brightened our spirits! Those movies are so good! Oh actually, we watched "What About Bob?" before the group, which gave us a great line to use whenever we were stressed. "Baby steps to 4 o'clock. Baby steps to 4 o'clock." :) On Tuesday, Kate and I ventured to Dublin to get our hair cut. I hadn't gotten mine cut since June, so it was definitely time! Afterward we had lunch and then separated to do some shopping. I found a really nice Catholic bookstore which was great because I needed to get a lot of birthday presents for the next two months. When I got to the bus stop to go home, Canada was waiting there. It was a nice surprise, because taking the 45 minute bus ride home alone is boring.

Yesterday felt like anything but work. It began in the afternoon with a visit to the Cara Cheshire Home. This is where six of our members take residence, among 20 others. Michaelena and Sean are two popular favorites among CASA volunteers. Michaelena was in the craft room when we arrived, doing her usual masterpieces. Everyone else was either in bed or on their way back from their day centers. Stephen came rolling in after a few minutes, to which Michaelena promptly shouted, "Go AWAY, Stephen." Needless to say, she isn't his biggest fan. :) I happen to love Stephen, though, so I tried to smooth things over. When we were asking Stephen how he was feeling, because he was recently diagnosed with cancer, Michaelena shouted, "Don't talk about that here, Stephen!!!!" It was so funny. Stephen doesn't mind Mickie's attitude because he knows he deserves it. He's always pushing her over the edge. :P

After the visit we all met up at the Gaiety Theater to see Jack and the Beanstalk. A very wealthy volunteer donated a bunch of tickets for us to take members. It was quite a show! There was tons of singing and dancing and an electronic beanstalk that came out of the stage! I was impressed by the quality. And the male dancers were pretty damn entertaining. Not to mention the drag queen that played Jack's mom. haha They also incorporated recent songs like "Single Ladies," "Tonight's Gonna Be a Good Night," and that pop it lock it song from Miley Cyrus. It was a very fun show!

Today has been regular group prep. We have a kids group starting tomorrow. I am paired with Perfect again. I was supposed to be with her last time, but her parents cancelled very last minute. I am praying that she is able to come because I know how badly she needs the break. Any extra prayers would be great!