A Little Spice: Reflections on a First Visit After the Lockdown

Abstract

Younger persons living in long term care often come to care due to a lack of support, including social support from family and friends, which is a result of frail, fragmented and fractured relationships. My dissertation explored the experiences of socially isolated younger residents—defined as persons under the age of 65—who lived in long term care, where policies and procedures focus primarily on caring for older persons. My connections to these residents was abruptly cut off during the early lockdowns, associated with COVID-19. When the nursing homes reopened, I began to visit again. The qualitative data from these visits were the foundation for a poetic inquiry. This poem is one of the results.