Almost to the Finish Line

I've got two weekends left of my CNA training, and though I am thoroughly fed up with my school, I am finding more satisfaction in working as a CNA. We started working at a new facility, which is amazing in comparison to the place we were at before. The place is clean, soooo clean. You walk down the halls and it doesn't reek of urine and feces! The staff there all though they don't seem to love their jobs, they do genuinely care about the patients, they treat them well, and make sure that the place where they live is decent. At the old facility, if someone wet the bed, they CNAs wouldn't wash the mattress let alone wait for the urine to dry before putting clean (but heavily stained) sheets on it. Here, even if the mattress isn't soiled, it is still washed (and dried!) every few days. So, I'm sucking up to everyone who works there, trying to be helpful and cheerful so that once I get certified they will call me up and say "Rakal, we would love to give you a job, you can choose your own schedule, only work in the sub acute wing, and you'll get a raise every week, with bonuses every month!" Ha. Really though, I could see myself enjoying working here.

Last Week, right before lunch time all the patients (they're patients not residents because we work mainly in the sub acute wing of the facility where people are just there to recuperate after surgery and then return home as opposed to the dementia wing where people go to "live") were sitting at the tables waiting for their food when one woman starts crying uncontrollably. I try to comfort her, rubbing her back and telling her nice things, trying to get her mind off of things, but nothing I say stops her tears. The woman sitting next to her grabs her hand and tells her that everything is going to be okay because she is surrounded by people who love her, and that she loves her, and then gives her a flower, and then tells her that love is the most important thing, and since so many people love her shes going to be okay. The woman stops crying and smiles. I couldn't help but tear up. It was one of the most touching things I've witnessed in my life.

So many lessons to be learned here...