It is a hard job but also very rewarding. I have never walked in to a residents room and found them passed, but I have seen people dying. There was one lady who I absolutely loved. She had alzheimers so didnt remember me from 5 mins to the next but she was just gorgeous. Her name was Grace and she would always give me a big smile when I came in to help her shower in the mornings although she did hit me a few times, it didnt hurt and I realised it was part of her condition. When you think about it, it would be terribly scary having a stranger walk in to your room and start showering you. When it was her time to go, she was in bed and hadnt been eating for 3 days and drinking very little. It was the end of my shift and I was just sitting next to her stroking her hair and telling her it was ok to go. She had tears. She passed away an hour after I left.

I had heaps of favorites and really good times. Some of them used to think I was their sister or best friend (cause at that moment they thought they were in their 20's) and we used to just go along with it. They would reminise and crack jokes and talk about boys they fancied- it was lovely.

All this talk is making me want to go back to work......

Alison - I saw your post on FB, tell us more