Lori Allen: Life imitates art

I enjoy working with medical schools to role play with students for testing and training purposes.

The acting scenes take place in a mock clinic exam room outfitted with cameras. It’s an important part of training to practice skills learned in the classroom with actual people. I find the learning encounters rewarding and satisfying.

Students gain experience with a variety of simulated case situations, and they are given feedback from a patient’s perspective. For me, it fulfills my personal quest for lifelong learning as I often glean more from the experience than the docs.

Recently, I was involved in two different case scenarios about the same topic. In each, my character was dealing with the stress of caring for a parent experiencing typical aging issues and Alzheimer’s. As our population ages, the diseases that tend to afflict the elderly and the effects this has on their caregivers will be a common theme for the many doctors as they care for their patients.

Each day going to work meant re-enacting the struggles a caregiver faces while tending to aging parents. It was emotional and draining as I professed exhaustion over my inability to give adequate care to my “mother” and my lack of awareness of the aging process.

Unexpectedly, on one of the days, in a twisted version of life imitating art, I got the call from my brother that my father had fallen. He explained that he had taken my father to the doctor and learned that my parents expressed a desire to move to an assisted-living facility. The news was a bit surreal, and as I finished playing the case that day the emotions became a bit more real.

I immediately made plans to travel to Minnesota after the school gave me Friday off so that I could take a long weekend visit. My parents were ready for assisted living and wanted to move as soon as possible.

As I continued to work the rest of the day, I paid closer attention from a new perspective.

After every student encounter, we provide feedback to the student and share our knowledge about the topic. During feedback I was able to uncover a variety of helpful suggestions that I was able to take back to my own personal situation.

Home safety is an important part of the discussion because an untrained caregiver (my role) can easily miss some safety items that are often quite simple to accomplish. People should ask:

▪ Are there safety railings in the bathroom?

▪ Are there non-slip floors in the bathroom?

▪ Are there throw rugs around the home that could be a tripping hazard?

▪ What about motion sensor lights in the hallway to light a path to the bathroom?

▪ Are there small pets that can get tangled in a slow walker’s feet or leave a sharp chew toy in the walkway?

▪ Are there stairs?

▪ Are the doors to the home locked at night to prevent a restless patient with Alzheimer’s from wandering away?

▪ Is clutter in the way of a clear walking path?

The list goes on. I felt a tinge of panic as I reviewed the list in my mind, knowing several violations were occurring at my parent’s house in Minnesota as we spoke.

My “mother” (Jane) was not only a spectacular actress during the role-play, but she had much to contribute during the feedback session.

There are many resources for the aging, and she shared her personal favorites. The “Help at Home” program (www.helpathome.com) and “Jet Express” (www.jfskc.org) were two that she mentioned (but there are many others). Those aren’t available in my home town, but it’s a good reminder that there are many services out there — you just need to do a search.

Over the long weekend visit we packed boxes, cleaned, cooked and sorted trash. These are not things my parents need to be doing, and as exhausting as it was, I was so relieved to be there. My siblings have also been helping wherever necessary, providing meals and doing some chores.

I’m sure at one point they felt it was important to remain in their home as long as possible but I know they are ready to enjoy a more carefree lifestyle and won’t miss the restrictions and burdens of home ownership. A move to assisted living will provide a whole new level of care. My parents have earned it and deserve it. The services provided at the facility are beyond what I could do even if I lived next door.

During the tour of the facility my parents ran into a longtime friend who lived there. Her excitement to learn that they were moving in had my parents warming to the idea even more. The new community will enrich their lives and give them opportunities to build additional friendships.

Going through the process of caring for aging parents while role-playing a similar scenario was a bit taxing but probably helped in both cases. I was better able to understand the purpose of the case and I learned a few things that helped me through the process in real life.

This story was originally published October 27, 2015 at 4:18 PM with the headline "Lori Allen: Life imitates art."