Keeping In Touch With Elders In An Era Of No-Touching

A daughter commented that she had not been able to visit her parent because the facility was “locked down” to prevent the viral spread from Covid.  She could only drop his snacks off at the door.  She worried. No matter how many times she explained, she still couldn’t get him to understand.

Many elders and their adult children face this dilemma.  All facilities are closed to visitation: even when the elder is dying!  The more frail the elder, the less likely they can manage total separation.  Seniors need tangible connections; touch, sight and hearing.   

How do we keep in touch in an era of no-touch?  Families often bring presents to these visits, yet; it’s the present of their presence that elders crave.  So, how do we convey presence when we can’t be present?  

KEEP IT TANGIBLE:  E-cards are nice but a classic greeting card is tangible.Your loved one can hold it or look at it repeatedly. Tuck a greeting card into a bag of groceries or a bunch of flowers.  The facility staff can point to it to remind them that you are keeping in touch.

MAIL CARDS:  It helps support our postal service and your loved one. Getting mail is a big event in care facilities.  It’s not how fancy the card, it’s how often you provide a reminder that you care.

TRY PRINTED PHOTOS: These are more tangible.  Perhaps you got your loved one a cell phone and sent them pictures.  That wasn’t their early experience.  For decades, today’s elders only had the paper option.  When you send a shiny paper photo it resonates.  Photos used to require going to a studio, posing,  and were made for special occasions.  Photos were important.  So printed photos carry an important message from you; “You are important to me”.

Children’s crayon drawings carry the unique, tangible message.  They are especially important if the drawings are labeled with the child’s name, date, and something about the picture.  That way, the staff can point out the picture later, when the elder says they think they’re forgotten.

WHAT’S THEIR FRAME OF MIND: We’ve all had a crash course about pandemics.  Elders may not have paid as much attention to the news.  Some have turned news off altogether.  98+% of today’s elders weren’t alive during that last pandemic in 1918.  It isn’t part of their experience.  They can’t relate to the scale of lock down necessary to contain a pan-demic. Some may have known families who were quarantined when they were children; but they are not familiar with a whole society in quarantine.  
 
So what do you tell them about why you can’t be there?  Start by asking them what they know about today’s news.  If they have been following the news, use their level of information to determine what you share about your being away.
 
If they don’t seem to know; try a simpler explanation: you “have to be away for awhile”.  You’ve taken vacations, trips and returned.  This is just another time away.  Promise only that you will return.  Say that in a card as well as on the phone.  Say it often. “ Someday, some way, we’ll be together”.   That’s what the song says and that’s my prayer for all of us.