Losses when working in a dementia and rehab unit vary. There is the loss of innocence, that bad things happen to good people and they never recover. The loss of ignorance,. I could end up here in a very bad state and die alone someday.
You lose people and in different ways. Some people you lose because they are able to live in a less restricted facility and for them that is good. You miss their laugh and, since they are less cognitively impaired, you miss sharing a joke. Most people you lose through death. Often you know death is coming and though it is a blessing and the end of suffering, you miss certain aspects of that person. Their smile a phrase they used to say or even the way they drove you crazy. Once in a great while a stable resident dies suddenly, and you see the paramedics and the aftermath of unsuccessful CPR. You see the shock and loss of a spouse of 32 years who though his wife was ill and needed care, never imagined she could be gone so quickly.
These losses make you hold onto the things and people you cherish more closely.
