One of my favorite memories with my fiance's grandmother is "breaking her out" of her assisted living home. We check out Nan and take her to dinner or to hang out at a family member's house. We joke with the crew that we will sneak margaritas back into the facility. The staff is always great, and I realize they see her more than I do.

These folks that love on Nan daily are living their life much like nurses and doctors. They are in isolation when they get home. They are doing everything they can to protect their residents.

I have seen my mother-in-law do wonderful things for the staff at the assisted living home. I appreciate that she doesn't overlook the hard work that these folks put in on a daily basis.

I see my dear friend Chelsea work her hardest to keep her residents in high spirits. She comes up with fun ideas to keep her residents occupied to protect them from becoming depressed.

"I saw this on my newsfeed posted by one of the staff members that works at Arabella in Longview. The staff in the nursing homes and assisted livings aren't fighting the same battle that the nurses and the doctors who are bravely fighting against COVID-19 are. Our battle looks a lot different.
We’re fighting to protect our residents from the outside world. We’re fighting against depression and loneliness. We are fighting boredom and confusion caused by dementia. We are fighting frustration of family members not being able to visit and families who feel disconnected and fear for their loved one.
So until this crisis is over, we will dress up in silly costumes and dance down halls, we will give comforting words and do our best to create fun activities that can be done safely. We will hold the iPads so loved ones can see their elderly parent who is unable to communicate and reassure them everything is okay. We will put on smiles even when our heads are pounding and we are fighting worry ourselves. We will do what we can to make sure the outside world stays “outside” and our resident stay safe. This picture is of my mom and oldest daughter. I am homesick for both of them so much. My mom has Alzheimer’s and is being taken care of by wonderful staff in the Memory Care Unit at Arabella here in Longview. My daughter is a CNA at a nursing home in Corpus Christi and is working many extra hours taking care of the loved ones of many families."

I saw this on my newsfeed posted by one of the staff members that works at Arabella in Longview. ❤️❤️ ...

Posted by Cindy Lea Dowden Hudgins on Monday, April 6, 2020

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