USE WORDS THAT HELP, NOT HURT!
People in
assisted living, nursing homes, group homes, hospitals and other facilities do
not “have it made”, I’ve heard way too many people refer to people living in
these place described as: “You have it
made” I wish I had your life” and other hurtful, ignorant statements! These
words are demeaning to myself, and others who live in these places. , They show how so many are misinformed of persons health conditions.
People in mine,
and other facilities, are there for many
reasons. To use those kinds of words to
describe mine and the lives of others,
who’ve had to give up so much, is insulting! We are where we are because most
of us have health issues that could not
be treated in our own homes.
These health
conditions I am describing are very painful, life threatening, stressful,
chronic, depressing, etc.,, Words like
“You have it made” are such an insult to me! These words shows total ignorance of
our health conditions. Please do not take it for granted that I,
and others, who, just because we reside in places where we need basic help,
that we have it easy!
We don’t!
It’s so
difficult for many of us because, among other things, we’ve , lost much of our
independence . We also, besides living
with our own chronic health issues, we also live with the prospect of our friends’ our own pending mortality. The friends I’m talking about, are fellow residents we eat with, visit with
each other in our apartments, participate in activities with, share our lives,
laugh with, cry with, have loads of fun with, and mourn with. We friends are really, truly family!
Please, use
words of comfort when you talk about/with people, not words that hurt!
Evelyn M. Pinto
May 1,
2014
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