FERGUS – Volunteering isn’t for everyone but for Julie Wheeler Bryant and Rod Irving, the last 20 years have been nothing short of amazing.
The two have been volunteering at the Wellington Terrace Long-Term Care Home in Fergus for over two decades – Bryant for 27 years and Irving for 24.
Irving retired in 2001 and followed in his wife’s footsteps as she used to work at the terrace.
She gave him the little push he needed and he hasn’t looked back since.
“It’s always the same, you sit down and chat with them and you have a good time because that’s one of the things they (residents) like to do the most,” he told the Advertiser.
Irving usually volunteers two to three time a week for one to three hours at a time.
He has made many connections over the years simply by listening to the residents and being a friend.
“The people in here are very happy … they enjoy this place, it’s well built and they do a very good program,” Irving said.
His role as volunteer includes chatting with residents, going on trips if the person he is visiting wishes to and understanding resident case histories.
“They (staff) give you a lot of freedom here,” he said. “From a responsibility viewpoint they want to make sure you know what the people are about.”
Irving noted, to him “that’s important because if you’re going to communicate with somebody, you want to talk about things that they enjoy.”
During his visits, he focuses on one or two patients to spend time with, and over his time he has made connections with seven to 10 residents.
“[Volunteering] makes me feel good … I’m a friendly type of guy and I like to mingle with people,” he said.
Hardships go hand in hand when volunteering at a long-term care home.
“It’s pretty tough,” Irving said referring to resident deaths.
He reminisced about a time a resident was in a palliative room, specialized
medical care that focusses on providing relief from pain and other symptoms of a serious illness.
“I just held his hand and chatted with him for a while, [it] brought a smile to his face,” Irving said. “That meant a lot to me, I got to see him smiling.”
About a week later the resident died.
“That’s the only thing that I find about this volunteer job here, you make connections but you know at the end of the line something’s going to happen.
“I think the biggest thing is respect you know, you respect the people in here and you get respected in return and that goes a long way to solidifying the relationship,” he said.
Julie and Lili
Bryant’s volunteer story differs from Irving is that a furry little friend helps her bring joy to residents.
She brings her 10-year-old goldendoodle therapy dog Lili to the terrace where she gets love from residents and staff alike.
“It was back in 1997, and I was getting a dog,” she said.
Bryant saw a photograph of a therapy dog in a newspaper.
“I had no idea at the time, as most people didn’t, and I thought that’d be really great, I would love to do something like that,” she said.
She got her then therapy dog Gus tested, and he was on his way to the terrace.
“We always need more people that might be interested in having their dogs tested to be therapy dogs,” Bryant said. “It just basically means the dog likes to visit with people.”
After Gus came Molly and now Lili is carrying on their legacy.
“She’s the best when it comes to wanting to be petted, and you can’t teach that,” she said.
Bryant usually sees about 20 to 40 people in her three-hour period every week.
“I often see people in an open area … it can give more people a chance to see Lili,” she said.
She refers to her experience as a win, win, win situation “like the points of a triangle.”
The residents and staff are happy, Lili is happy and Bryant herself is happy.
Just like Irving, “there have been a few tears shed at home … I don’t think you ever get past that,” she said referring to resident losses.
“Some people I do see them every week and we have great chats,” she explained.
“Lili knows where their rooms are … she goes directly to their door … and she doesn’t know they’re not there.”
Bryant explained how much she has learned about coping with life and carrying on in spite of hardships.
“Selfishly there’s a big payback … once you’re here it’s another world and all these people have way bigger problems than you do,” she said.
Both Irving and Bryant shared the importance of volunteering.
“If you want to get a good experience in life and share your experiences with somebody … that’s the way to do it,” Irving said.
“Volunteering takes you out of yourself … you sort of leave behind everything you were thinking about before,” Bryant said.
Those interested in volunteering with the Wellington Terrace Long-Term Care Home, can visit the county’s website.
