Dear Editor:
My wife and I have just completed a contract painting at Mariposa Gardens .
Throughout the five weeks that we worked there, we had a chance to see and watch how the staff interacted with some of the residents.
Most of the time the staff really was unaware of our presence as they were helping the residents through their day.
And we feel that the public really needs to know about what a great bunch of caring people work there.
Most of us really have no idea how hard a job these care aids, kitchen staff, housekeepers and nurses really have.
Some of the residents just need help with daily activities, while others involve a little more work.
Many of these residents may have dementia or Alzheimer’s Disease.
Working throughout the facility, we witnessed people that truly care. They show major patience and treat these residents with respect and compassion.
This was true of 99 per cent of the staff, from the housekeepers that we saw giving hugs and asking how a residents’day was going, to the care aids who had to deal with residents who were very confused and sometimes violent.
One might think they were just doing this because we were there. But most of the time we would just come around a corner to find one of the staff helping a resident or giving them a hug or just sitting and talking with them.
We look for heroes everyday in our society, from the fireman that goes running into a burning building to the police officer that lays his life on the line to protect others.
In my opinion, these people are heroes maybe not in the same way as the police or the firefighters, but in the fact that they deal with people that most of us really don’t see.
And they do it every single day and always with the compassion that we would all hope to get in our final days.
I’m not sure I could handle their jobs on a regular basis.
Just working there for the five weeks really opened our eyes to a lot of things that we never really knew much about.
We have to admit there were times that we had a huge lump in our throats and had to choke back the tears as we watched some of the residents.
It’s very sad to look over and see a lady that was maybe a school teacher or a nurse or just someone’s parent or grandparent and now they have to live their final days battling dementia or Alzheimer’s Disease.
Some of the residents have nobody left in their lives.
We met one dear little lady that has no one come and visit her. Thank God for the staff who talk to her and care for her. In closing. we would just like to say that we are very lucky to have such a wonderful facility in Osoyoos to care for the people who need it.
Pat and Dan Mowll
Osoyoos, B.C.
