John & I were with a grannie client the other night when a situation reminded me of the importance of oldsters, especially the seriously aged, getting enough to eat at each meal. This can be challenging for the elderly, since our hunger & thirst mechanisms decline as we get up there.
It seems to me that this challenging biological fact is compounded when you're eating with only older people, especially if almost everyone in the dining room has some form of dementia.
The situation was also an AH HA! moment in realizing how important it is to my dear friend's health that her family makes sure she frequently gets out with youngers throughout the week, often for a meal. Whether it is with one of them or folks like myself or another care partner, their mother eats at least six major meals sitting across from younger faces, younger appetites. That matters.
Compare that to sitting in a dining room where almost everyone at the tables are old, most with some form of memory challenge & all with decreased eating & drinking appetites. Add to that the general lack of conversation that stimulates the appetite as well as the mind. Sort of grim, however pleasant the room or the food.
Now, imagine sitting with younger friends, with older friends whose memories aren't challenged, at the table. They have healthier appetites, engage in sprightly conversation that jazzes up the experience, transforms the moment into a social event rather than just another meal.
It turned out that the health scare with our older friend was just that - a scare & nothing more. But one of the nurses said, in passing, "They don't eat much at their meals," as a possible explanation for why the grannie client had been non-responsive to the point of needing a sternum rub to be brought around.
As we grow older, appetites decrease, which is why it's important to have family or friends around to make sure enough food of the right sort is being consumed. It goes beyond what we learned in high school Human Body classes - that food provides the nutrients that create the energy that fuels our body. It effects how we process alcohol & especially meds.
Meds are the same. The slighter the frame, the more pronounced the impact. The older person who could handle a certain dosage six months ago might have lost weight that now spikes its effect. A sleeping aid for an elderly woman might not just help her doze off to happy slumbers - it might zonk her into a non-responsive sleep right in the middle of a movie or musical performance.
What a relief that our friend's health scare turned out to be nothing, that a trio of us handled it without major disruption to the rest of the folks watching the film.
What stuck in my head was that nurse saying, "They don't eat much at their meals." Got me thinking about what a difference it could make in the dementia unit if for every three elderly people at the table, there was one younger, someone who could provide some interesting conversation, who could mirror a good appetite, inspiring his or her table mates to eat more of their own meals.
My older friend is blessed to have children who make sure she frequently breaks bread with family & friends, whether out or right there, in her full-service, senior lifestyle residence.
Alas, our grannie client is very much in a very small minority. What can be done to help make the dining experience better - mentally, emotionally, physically - for more of them?
Worth a long ponder, then action!
Credits:
adathatikvah.org
ndss.com.au
slideplayer.com
trustworthycare.com
nih.gov
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