I read something today that affirmed my belief that our shared story about the power of the human touch connects us and uplifts us all. Marianne Williamson, in her book Everyday Grace, writes, “Spriritually, we do not exist in isolation. …we’re like sunbeams of the same sun and waves of the same ocean.” For this entry, I want to continue to share our stories– there is power and connection in the story of our work with those in facility care and hospice. Over the years, I have collected stories from therapists and other caregivers about the power of the human touch. I want to share a couple of them with you here. How have you witnessed the power of touch in your work with this special population?
“I have a story to tell about my work with a hospice patient who has Alzheimer’s disease. For the first few weeks, he didn’t want to be touched. He is not at all communicative, so it was a challenge to keep approaching him. I figured out that I needed to say or do something different instead of asking the same questions each time. On the third visit, I reached out for his hand and started doing gentle compressions up his arm and asked if it felt good. He said “yes”. He also said yes when I asked to put lotion on his hands. It went on this way for several more weeks. Then last week, after about 10 minutes, I was massaging his right arm and he reached out with his left arm and began massaging my arm! He also looked right into my eyes with a very clear look in his eyes and a slight smile on his face, as if her were remembering something. It was really a wonderful moment; we had made a connection and communicated on a deep level.” Linda V., LMT,
Lawrence, Kansas
“My closest friend was hospitalized with cancer. It was a very aggressive form of liver cancer and she passed away yesterday. During the time of her hospital stay, I went regularly and was able to provide Compassionate Touch® massage. One of the doctors independently suggested that her children arrange for her to receive massage and was quite pleased that she already was. She had decided against having visitors and I, as a massage therapist was the exception. I had the very real privilege of being able to provide her with some comfort and it afforded me an exceptional opportunity to give to a dear friend, by extension to her family and helped me through a very painful time. Being able to provide a service to a friend enabled me to get past feeling helpless in the face of her disease. Joy S., LMT, New York, New York
Share a story of your own– we’ll all be uplifted by it!
Enjoy the day,
Ann
