What stirs more feel-good sentiments than a great book about a remarkable animal? That's the medicine Dr David Dosa prescribes in a fascinating true story, Making Rounds With Oscar (2010, Headline Review, 248 pages).
A geriatrician, Dosa works at the Steere House Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Providence, Rhode Island. Since 2005, Oscar, a fluffy, black-and-white tabby cat, has lived there – in the 41-bed advanced dementia unit -- and practiced medicine too.
With “almost psychic sensitivity", Oscar knows in advance, before doctors do, when any of the elderly human residents will die. Although usually reluctant to cuddle, he always goes to the departing person, lies alongside and stays. “It is Oscar’s job to provide the critical companionship during the final hours. He is clearly part of the team and as much a comfort to the families as he is to the patient, though in some cases he is the only family the patient has left.”
Can Oscar be “a gentle guide who takes people from someplace scary to one more forgiving"? Is he “an angel in feline form"?
“ ‘The strangest thing,’ Annette recalled, ‘was after the undertaker came, and they were wheeling my mother out, Oscar stood up, like he was at attention.’
‘Sort of like a sentry,’ her sister said.
‘Yeah,’ Annette agreed, ‘like a sentry.’ ”
Humans can't explain how Oscar knows or why he's so diligent. “Who knows, Dr Dosa? There's probably some scientific explanation but, in the end, does it really matter? He's there when it counts. ”
Elderly patients, their families and the medical staff appreciate Oscar's role. “Dr Dosa, I think of Oscar as my angel. He was here for my mother and here for me, too. With Oscar at my side, well, I felt a little less alone…. Oscar gave me a feeling that this is all natural.”
So this cat brings comfort and makes death easier to accept. As a bonus, his actions often alert the nurses to summon relatives for “final farewells”.
“The thing I can't get over is that Oscar always seemed to know when he was needed, and he never seemed to want anything in return. Oh, he'd let me stroke under his chin and rub his little ears, but even that – well, it was as if he knew that it was helping me. Which it did. There's something really calming about petting a cat.”
Oscar reinforces the reality that pets bring huge benefits. “Before the 1980s there was no such thing as pet therapy. Animals didn't have a place in health-care institutions. Why bring a ‘dirty animal’ into a sterile environment? Then some scientists began to espouse the human-animal bond theory – the belief that animals can have a beneficial effect on human health and psychology. Research increasingly began to back up this belief. Nursing-home patients in particular – with or without memory loss – were less depressed and lonely. I suppose intuitively this makes sense. Most people love animals. Why wouldn't they want them in their last home?”
Once skeptical of Oscar's expertise, the author soon believes. Writing more than “a cat book”, he explores the emotional and physical strains of Alzheimer's disease and death. “It's ironic that, while Alzheimer's and other dementias rob their victims of memory, they leave the family and loved ones with only memories.”
There's also insight into what it means to age, even with brain-powers intact. “You know…, every day, I sit here and wait. I wait for someone to help me get dressed. I wait for breakfast, then for lunch. After that, it’s back to my room for a nap or to watch some stupid soap or talk show on TV. Then I wait for dinner. When I was young, I never had time. I was always on the go, didn't have a minute for myself. Now, all I have is time.”
Together, Dr Dosa and Oscar dish out encouragement to people who endure dementia or other ailments and those who care for them. The book carries a dedication to “the families and caregivers of dementia patients everywhere”.
The author's first book, Making Rounds With Oscar falls short of perfection, but maybe not by much. One glaring flaw is the absence of photos. Only the cover shows what Oscar looks like.
Reading this heartfelt story takes only a few hours. Almost everyone spending the time should gain from the experience.
Approval rating: 94 per cent.
For more information: www.daviddosa.com
(June 15, 2010)
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