Contributed by Bill Brokaw
Aging and Alzheimer's caused Bill AND Pat Brokaw to move into the Palmer Vets and Pioneer's Home over TWO years ago. Bill is 84 years of age, while Pat is 81. Pat, the victim of Alzheimer's, is the reason that a new lifestyle was necessary for this senior couple. Pat's incurable disease caused her to lose her memory and her ability to knit, sew, crochet, write and all hand-coordinated activities in which she excelled before Alzheimer's.
Life in the home has been tough for both of them. Especially Bill, as his whole life has gone from the enjoyable retirement he had planned for, to a life of commitment to Pat's care. Fortunately, because of their veterans status, they both qualified for admittance to the Home, and have found their existence in this beautiful facility to be very satisfying.
Satisfaction for Bill is centered on seeing his wife get the 24/7 care she needs. Also, as an independent resident, he has the freedom for bicycling, bowling, church-going and in-home activities offered by the Pioneer Home. Satisfaction for Pat centers on food, a warm bed, wheel chair operation and the many visits from her husband. She gets extremely bored with non-structured time.
With this background information about Bill and Pat and their situation, we now need to look at the effect of the virus on both them and the Palmer Pioneer Home.
About the time the virus was causing many deaths in New York, Bill was trying to market a book he had written and had published titled, “Alzheimer's, Life's Darkest Disease”. The writing of this book was a consolidation of the many journals that Bill had written during the SEVEN years of his wife's walk down this dark trail of life. He suffered more than she did. The title of a more recently written book could be,”COVID-19, Life's Darkest Disease”.
Since there are going to be multiply books written about life with the virus, Bill is not going to write a book on the subject, but rather share a Virus-caused experience at the Home that affected both he and his wife. Being 84, and starting to feel a large touch of Dementia, Bill will share this memory before the terrible disease of Dementia takes over.
“Saturday, August 15th, I was asked by a nurse to leave Pat's living area in the Home. I had my mask on, which was necessary when visiting her, but had never been asked to leave. It was then explained to me that a care-worker in the Home's adjoining hallway was found to have the virus. To protect all residents in the two hallways, both hallways were put on lockdown. I was then told that until all residents had been tested for the Virus, I could no longer visit Pat. I was not only unhappy about this decision, but also about an earlier mandate that curtailed my occasional visits to local restaurants, to my church and to my bowling team. And then on top of these NO-NO’s, I could not visit my wife. She is currently on Hospice, and like the Virus, life is very uncertain.
I was joyful on Monday, when learning that all residents and workers tests were negative. But, joy was short-lived when I was told that I could not go to Pat's living area, but had to rely on a nurse to bring her to my room for a visit. The nurse supervisor decided her nursing staff did not have the time to do that, so it was decided that I could visit Pat, but only in her very small room. And, of course, I had to wear my mask at all times. Since Pat dislikes being in her very small room, I knew our visiting time would be short-lived. Pat is a move-move type of person. She's always been that way in our 28 years of marriage. Since I started writing this, she has been moved to a much larger room. This room is located in a different area of the Home and allows her much more wheel-chair freedom.
Our home, even though only one worker has been found with the Virus, is now closed to all visitors. Residents can use their phones and talk to loved one through one of many windows. We do hope to have the results of our second test back in a couple days so visiting can be allowed again.
The following resident actions are cause for a 14 day quarantine:
• Choosing to leave the building and go to a high environment such as a crowded restaurant, bar, or grocery store.
• Going to a home or outside residence potentially coming into contact with family and others for a visit of any duration.
• Meeting another person such as a relative outside the home.
One can see, from reading this writing, that the Alaskan Veterans and Pioneers Home located in Palmer, Alaska is doing an excellent job of setting a high example for keeping residents safe.