When I started volunteering at Lincoln Glen Nursing Center (LGNC) as a young freshman in high school, I was nervous and unsure about working with senior citizens since my only experience was with my grandparents. I especially didn’t know how to randomly walk into a resident’s room and talk to them. Then, I met Kathy.
From the first time I went into her room, it was extremely easy for me to talk to Kathy. Twice a week, I would knock on Kathy’s door exactly at 4:30pm, and Kathy would tell me about her family and show me her drawings and paintings, almost all of which were of the ocean. One day, I decided to ask her about why she would only draw and paint the ocean. Kathy finally opened up to me about her deep love of the ocean. She reminiscenced about the memories she had of running down the beach and into the beautiful, endless ocean. Since that one time I asked her about the ocean, Kathy spent each subsequent conversation we had talking about her memories of the ocean–about how she admired its beauty, its gentleness, its mystery, its unpredictability. I was amazed by her deep love of the ocean, but I was also saddened that because she was bedridden, Kathy would never get to sit by the ocean and feel the salty mist from the waves on her face again.
I wanted to bring the ocean back to Kathy to improve her quality of life. So, I decided that although she couldn’t see the ocean, she could hear its sounds again. I did some research and came upon a wonderful program called Music & Memory. The program’s aim was to use iPod playlists curated personally for an individual to remind them of their past memories. I was fascinated by this program, and I was ecstatic when I realized that Lincoln Glen Nursing Center was a certified Music & Memory center. Quickly, I went to work and created my first ever personalized Music & Memory playlist for Kathy. I downloaded birds chirping, leaves rustling, rain falling, and, most importantly, waves crashing onto an iPod and rushed to play them for Kathy. I will never forget her reaction: as the first ocean sounds played, I remember an expression of excitement, awe, and absolute bliss appearing on Kathy’s face. That day, we didn’t have our regular thirty minute conversation about the ocean; that day, Kathy held my hand, closed her eyes, and listened to the ocean I had brought to her.
Working with and getting to know Kathy has been an absolute honor for me. It was intensely satisfying for me to see the instant gratification that Kathy felt and the memories that rushed back to Kathy at the sound of waves crashing. Since my initial experiences with Kathy, I have played her iPod playlist for her every week and created tens of iPod playlists for other residents at LGNC. I am thankful that I was pushed out of my comfort zone to volunteer at LGNC and grateful for the people I was able to help.