BY SUSAN EVANS
The Tribune-Democrat
June 20, 2008 10:27 pm
—
Her nickname is “Sunshine,” and it fits.
Standing in a room crammed with art supplies and games, Debra Vermeulin never stops smiling as her older buddies glue colorful birds and flowers onto fence-shaped cardboard.
Four women are there this day, and they share Vermeulin’s sense of humor.
“What’s next?” they ask.
At age 52, Vermeulin has been activities director at Rebekah Manor personal care home in Ebensburg for seven years.
“We do everything,” she says while explaining her job.
“We have a cooking club, and they make cookies, banana bread, meatloaf ... all kinds of things. They love it,” she said.
Her older friends keep her young at heart and the Lilly resident says she loves her job.
A typical day of activities include “Sittercize,” in which Vermeulin leads residents in exercises they can do while sitting down, followed by communion and then games.
Favorites are trivia and “finish the line” in which residents guess at the phrase that comes next from the lyrics of a song.
“I love it here,” she said.
“My husband, Bob, says I should retire, but I tell him that I can’t leave my people. I have worked at many jobs through my lifetime, but I know God puts you where you are needed.”
“Sometimes I feel I should retire and let someone else take over with new ideas, but I just can’t seem to leave my residents. I guess they need me, and I need them,” she said.
“I just love working with the elderly.”
As she interacts with the residents of Rebekah Manor, Vermeulin said she marvels at their backgrounds.
“They have a wealth of information about how things were done, and I’m fascinated with the skills they possessed in being able to make anything they needed and the equipment they used.
“They were hard-working, and family meant everything to them. They didn’t consider what they did work because they did it for the love of their family.”
Vermeulin said she thinks she has “an old soul” and can relate well with the residents.
“I get frustrated when I see some of my residents lonely or sad because they miss their family so much, and they don’t come around or call very often,” she said.
“I don’t know if they are too busy with their responsibilities, or maybe they can’t handle seeing their loved one getting old.
“But they have to realize mom or dad will not be here forever and to spend as much precious time with them as you can.”
Vermeulin said it’s hard to say goodbye.
“The hardest part of my job is saying goodbye when their life is over. I hold their hand, kiss their cheek and bid them goodbye,” she said.
“I know they are going to a better place where there will be no more tears or pain. They meet up with their loved ones who have gone on before, but I miss them. I get very attached to my residents. They become my family.
“My goal is to keep on bringing a smile to their faces and make their last years an enjoyable experience. We are going to go on laughing.”
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