Grandfather’s wish
becomes career
Monday, July 25, 2005 -- Craig Anderson
Gloria Hall took her grandfather’s solemn wish – he requested Gloria care for he and his wife in the event they became sick or unable to care for themselves – to heart. What she couldn’t have known was the grand effect it would have on the course of her life.

When her grandfather died suddenly while walking across the kitchen one evening, Gloria was fully prepared to take over primary care for her grandmother, who was struggling through the advanced stages of Alzheimer’s and requiring 24 hour attention. Her grandfather’s wish, along with the reputation nursing homes at in the mid 1980's, was enough to remove this from consideration.

“It was a very tough decision in one respect, but an easy one too, because it was my grandfather’s wish,” says Gloria.

At the time of her grandfather’s death, the native Manitoulin resident had just made her first long foray outside of the tight-knit community, first to school at Kirkland Lake and then to Haliburton for a job interview. Despite being granted a position, her grandfather’s untimely death forced Gloria to gratefully decline it and radically alter her plans.

With a six-month old baby and toddler in tow, Gloria moved into her grandparent’s home to provide care for her grandmother. During the following two years, Gloria re-fitted the house to suit her grandmother’s needs, including making it wheelchair accessible, buying an appropriate hospital bed and Hoya lift, and re-structuring her life to suit the new arrangement.

“Taking care of someone at home is a 24 hour, eight days a week job,” says Gloria. “There is absolutely no break. Even when you are trying to rest you are thinking and listening.”

“But I was quite honoured to do that for her.”

Through this experience, and her “great love for people,” Gloria was inspired to make care-giving for seniors a full-time job.

20 years ago, Manitoulin Lodge was the only nursing home on the island, so Gloria's application was well-received. After being hired as an Activity Coordinator, a job Gloria says is more far-reaching than event-organizing (“we all do whatever has to be done,” she says), Gloria witnessed, with much relief, the gradual shift away from an impersonal, institutional orientation, often clearly defined by the routine use of lap belts and heavy medication.

Gloria believes activities, especially for residents with dementia, are invaluable. Stimulation is important, as it prevents a further diminishing of cognitive acuity.

“If you don’t use something you often lose it,” she says.

Roughly 60 of the 64 residents at Manitoulin Lodge are in varying stages of cognitive impairment, she says, so in organizing the activities the right level of stimulation – over stimulation can be detrimental – has to be considered carefully.

Greater family involvement is a unique feature at Manitoulin Lodge, says Gloria, citing Manitoulin’s small population – 12,000 – and cohesive community spirit. The home’s environment is very social, she says, and it’s not uncommon for friendships to blossom among the families of residents.

Emotional attachment to residents is unavoidable, says Gloria, a feature of the job that must be embraced, despite how difficult it can often be.

“They’re just like family,” she says.