What matters - 2nd part

Little by little Mr Laposte became a person of attention to everybody, staff as well as residents. Everyone seemed to observe him, not that he was a really “stranger”, but mainly, because everyone wanted to be the first to observe the change in him. It was like a parent waiting to see his baby making his first step, or to hear the baby making his or her first word. It is a memorable moment. Time passed, and Mr Laposte was not showing any improvement. However, we remained patient.

After a certain period, Mr Laposte started showing some signs of improvement. Mr Laposte accepted to put on clothes. Though he could not do his laundry, he showed that staying naked was not an option. Obviously, he saw that everyone did the same; so, why not him. Mr Laposte was on medication called “Orap” a neuroleptic medication mostly given to chronic schizophrenic patients in this situation. Something that touched the staff was a certain behavior that could be observed on a daily basis. When everybody was away, after eating, Mr Laposte could come to the refectory to watch TV, alone! This was something. Nobody dared to disturb him. In addition, though he couldn’t eat together with others, he would bring his plate back after eating for washing.

The staff spoke to him, but he never showed a sign of understanding what they were talking. However, they never got discouraged. They tried to speak in all possible local languages to see if he could get any word. But, silence was the reign! He was once shown a room where he could sleep, but he had refused to stay in. At some point, during the day, he could walk around the building to explore inside through the windows as if something was interesting in there. As we observed all these actions, we were getting really excited that Mr Laposte was becoming another person. Hope started showing up. What we didn’t know was that Mr Laposte was going to reveal his real name, to speak with his comrades, and to be the person to join others in the refectory, to have a bed in the room, and to do his laundry. How it happened?

Read our 3rd part to find out.

Jean-Clement, RN,BSN