My mother made an enormous impression on my life and the path I chose.  She was an unhappy woman with a streak of anger that was based in fear. One topic that she couldn't face was death.  Often in my childhood I would hear her say defiantly "Death is going to have to come and take me kicking and screaming".

Well, being an impressionable child, hearing those words and seeing my mom's eyes narrow and her mouth snarl made me fearful.  I had seen animals die and as I got older I had lost some relatives, too.  I knew intellectually that it was a battle she would eventually lose.  I also knew I didn't want to carry her fear with me as I aged.  So, from a young age, I understood that at some point, if I lived long enough, I was going to have to work with seniors.  I was going to have to come to terms with death and dying.

My path to seniors began when I was 16 with my mother wanting me out of the house for part of the day.  In her usual determined manner, she marched into my bedroom and pinned a job notice on my pillow.  A local home for the developmentally disabled was hiring.  I got the job.

At the home I got my first look at the children society discarded.  One in particular saddened me over and over again.  This young, blonde teenage girl clung desperately week after week to the dream of seeing her mother and hugging her again.  

Almost every week her mom would call the home to say she would come and pick up her daughter for a visit.  The mom lived in another state.  The tall and slender young lady would sit on the steps outside her bungalow, bags packed, and wait. The dejected look in her brown eyes told me she knew there would be no visit, but she was ready just in case.  I never saw her mom.  I don’t think she did, either.

So, I worked decades with this population getting my Masters’ degree along the way.  I became a federal advocate for them in Hawaii when my then husband was stationed there.  When he was sent then to San Diego, I struggled to find a job, so I took the Navy up on a training program they offered spouses.  I became a massage therapist and a holistic health practitioner in my 50's.

It was in that program that I knew I had been handed my path to serving seniors.  Who could need and use massage more?  Who could use loving touch more than another semi discarded group? I determined that I would work to serve them in the retirement homes.  I had no idea the difficulty of the path I had chosen.

I began thinking that I'd be met with open arms.  There are few massage therapists who work with seniors in retirement and nursing homes.  While working at a chiropractor’s office, the marketing woman from a local home came in and left her card for me.  I soon began working with their clients. They referred me to the second home I have been working with for years.  Sporadically I'd get into other homes for brief time periods.  But the majority refused my services right off the bat because of 'liability' concerns.  

I didn't give up all these years later.  The newer homes seem to think differently and are far more open to massage.  I am still here and remain determined to offer solutions and ways to improve the health of seniors. I help them avoid the health challenges that are avoidable.  Seniors shouldn't be in pain that is unnecessary, but I see it every day.  I want to shed light on the concerns of seniors that are often dismissed as just age. Dismissing them is discarding them.  Serving them is helping them live a comfortable and happier life.

Her background and focus on awareness led to the writing of her book "The SPIRIT Method of Massage for Seniors: Raising the Bar...A Primer for Massage Therapists and Caregivers".

Email: [email protected]

Check out a copy of Linda Mac Dougall's book on Amazon below.