"Hi, Mom!"
At the sound of my voice, her gaze moved from the open window to me. A smile lit her face when she caught sight of the bouquet of irises in my hands. "They're beautiful! Where did you find them?"
"They're the first blooms from the bed at our house."
"They're so pretty."
I arranged them in a vase where she could see them, and then we played Uno. When it was time for me to go she noticed them again.
"Oh, those are beautiful!" Her voice held the delight I used to hear when she called to tell me that her iris bed was blooming. "Where did you find them?"
This conversation confirmed two changes my siblings and I have witnessed in Mom lately. First, her dementia is becoming more noticeable. Second, her joy is also more noticeable. We've been expecting the first change ever since her diagnosis in 2008.
We attribute the second change to the power of an open window.
For years she insisted on having her window shades shut. But when my brother and I stayed with her during a recent hospital stay, we insisted on opening the shades, mainly because we couldn't stand sitting in the dark all day long. Soon she became more alert during the day and slept better at night. When she returned to her residential facility, we asked her team to add an item to her care plan.
Photo credit: Gia Oris on Unsplash.com.
Window shades are to remain open during the day.
The improvement in Mom's mood has been phenomenal. She sleeps less during the day. She engages in conversation more easily. She smiles more. She comments on what's happening outdoors. She wants to know what the weather's like. She enjoys watching the birds that come to the feeder my brother put outside her open window.
These changes remind me of a surgeon at the hospital where my husband worked as a nurse for thirty years. This surgeon insisted that his patients be given rooms with a window and a good view of the outdoors. Over the years, my husband noticed that this doctor's patients recovered more quickly than other patients did.
He called it the power of an open window.
I believe that as parents of kids with special needs and disabilities, especially those who are medically fragile, we can harness this power to enhance our children's lives. Amazing things can happen when we put the shades up, open windows so fresh air can blow into our children's rooms, or take them outside. Here are just a few:
Natural Vitamin D. Research shows that this vitamin can stabilize moods and reduce depression. Vitamin D is known as the sunshine vitamin because our skin absorbs it when outdoors. However, most people are Vitamin D deficient because we don't get enough natural light. Sitting beside a sunny window or going outside are ways for our kids to increase their Vitamin D intake naturally.
Sensory and mental stimulation. When window shades are open, children confined to a bed by illness or fragility have access to a world of color and movement. When both shades and windows are open, kids can enter a world of smells, sounds, and the feel of wind on their skin. This sensory input often stimulates imagination and curiosity, which can lead to new learning.
Improved quality of life. The benefits mentioned in #1 and #2 result in better quality of life. If the simple act of opening a shade or window can do that for our loved ones, let's do it.
Greater spiritual understanding of Christ as the light of the world. People who have a developmental age between five and eleven are called concrete learners. They make sense of the world through actual experience rather than through abstract concepts. Therefore light through an open window adding joy and color and wonder to life can help them comprehend Christ as light of the world. How wonderful to serve a God who uses every day experiences to grow our children's understanding of Him.
The power of an open window hasn't taken away my mother's dementia. Chances are it won't take away your child's disability either. But God's healing is more than physical. It is healing of the spirit. It is an increase of joy and peace and contentment. It is the power of God's light through His Son, through His Word, and through hearts made ready to receive Him.
Jolene Philo is the author of several books for the caregivng community. She speaks at parenting and special needs conferences around the country. She's also the creator and host of the Different Dream website. Sharing Love Abundantly With Special Needs Families: The 5 Love Languages® for Parents Raising Children with Disabilities, which she co-authored with Dr. Gary Chapman, was released in August of 2019. See Jane Run!, the first book in Jolene's West River cozy mystery series was released in June of 2022 and is available on Amazon.
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