The Truman Show, 6 North, & Research Musings (Part 1)

For all of you Covenant folk: No, the administration did not add a sixth floor to the already dilapidated building we call Carter Hall. Read on.

Every time I think to update this blog, I say to myself, "is there anything worth blogging about?" or "how often should I blog?" Then I sit there for a couple of days. Then something really cool happens that I want to blog about. Then I take a nap. Then I repeat this cycle, forgetting that I had already gone through it once, twice, maybe thrice before. All that to say, it's 4AM (right around my peak writing time), I have about a week left in my internship, and I finally have some thoughts gathered (I tend to jot down ideas and drafts in random places then make HUGE blog posts like this one).


July 5-July 9. . .

was full of mistakes, halts, frustrations, and getting stuff done. I was extremely worried at the beginning of the week I would not have enough data for my poster before it was due to the printer. Also, I didn't think that much of the data would be of any real significance. Of course, to make matters even worse, the graduate student that I work most closely with was having car issues. He didn't come in that day, which means it was just me and Jake in the office running ICCs for the manuscript that the Head Lab is working on (the manuscript is concerned with genetic links in aging, by the way). I went in early on Monday to finish things up. You know, make a good impression for that recommendation letter I'm sure I will need at some point? Well, fail. Come to find out, there was a little problem and the gray matter volumes on the ICCs were alllll wrong. It took two days to figure that out.

Meanwhile, I scheduled two more older adult participants that I didn't really need. Another fail.

Wednesdays are program meeting days when all of the Center for Aging interns come together and learn more about aging. I will hold my tongue on my opinion of some of the teaching we are exposed to, but I thought that this Wednesday was particularly interesting. We visited Parc Provence, which is a care facilitiy specifically for dementia patients. It costs quite a bit per year (around $100,000 on average), and that's not including the costs of medication. Let me just say, I did NOT like this place. It felt like I was on the Truman Show the entire time. The "tour guide" was very fake and was trying to "sell" Parc Provence to us in a weird way. This place was even equipped with trap doors... Don't get me wrong, this is an extremely nice facility. However, something about the atmosphere just did not sit well with me.

The whole experience got me thinking about nursing facilities. I couldn't picture placing my parents in a home at all. I would do everything in my power to prevent that (I mean, no one wants to go to a nursing/assisted-living home.) But (granted one/both of them was afflicted with dementia and I had the financial resources) would I send them to a place like Parc Provence? I'm still unsure. On one hand, the facility is extremely nice and is very well-suited for dementia patients (universal design). However, there's something "fishy" about the institution. I wouldn't feel comfortable leaving my loved ones in a place where I wasn't 100% certain that the ins and outs were legit. Also, I wouldn't feel comfortable with the fact that, if there was something going on, my parents would be unable to explain their dismay, simply because of their illness. It just seems like a trap. BUT, on the other hand, most assisted living facilities I have been to smell like stale urine and despair. Parc Provence have people going to group classes and community events, and what's more, they have residents organized by a dementia rating so that like-minded people are placed in the same "house." It seems like it would be a very comfortable choice. Ahhh, I don't know. I'm just rambling now.

Overall, this week was rough. But it got substantially better. I believe that this was when God began to really push me out of my comfort zone, which is something that really needed to be happened.

To Be Continued...