Couldn’t they have warned us? No, I am not talking about the COVID-19 virus. I’m talking about those residents who hoard. Come on, families. We know you knew!
I mean, have you ever walked into someone’s house who collects “too much”? Where you’re like, “Wow, you really like cow-shaped creamers don’t you?” and they say something like, “Oh, yes, I have 487 of them, would you like to see the first one I bought for my collection?” Big clue there. This person may turn into a hoarder some day.
Or, bless her heart, my ex- and dearly departed mother-in-law, who collected dolls. Not just a few dolls, mind you, but a whole room. Hundreds of them, every wall and corner crammed with dolls. All of them those fancy-dressed porcelain dolls, whose eyes are always open unless you lay them down. Like the kind they use in horror movies!
And to make matters worse, that’s where the day bed was. In THAT room, where you slept when you visited. All those glazed eyes, just up there staring at you when you try to sleep. And you just know one of them is going to get the rest of them to jump down soon as you doze and … (paranoid much, Jackie?)
OK, but it was a bit creepy and you try explaining to your mother-in-law why 376 dolls are laying down and facing backwards when she wakes you up to see if you want to go shopping with her. (For dolls probably!)
Look, all I am saying is, please, families, give us a heads-up. You know if your family member is a hoarder. Let us start from day one on a hoarder’s plan of care so we can get in front of it before we can’t even get in the room. I’m just saying …
Just keeping it real,
Nurse Jackie
The Real Nurse Jackie is written by Jacqueline Vance, RNC, CDONA/LTC, Senior Director of Clinical Innovation and Education for Mission Health Communities, LLC and an APEX Award of Excellence winner for Blog Writing. Vance is a real-life long-term care nurse. A nationally respected nurse educator and past national LTC Nurse Administrator of the Year, she also is an accomplished stand-up comedienne. The opinions supplied here are her own and do not necessarily reflect those of her employer or her professional affiliates.
