What is surprising, however, is that some residents considered such states as temporary: Well I had to come in here because I was looking my husband who had dementia and in the finish I collapsed. I’d lost three stone in weight. And I had a bit of a gammy leg and I couldn’t look after myself. So that’s why. And I’d collapsed and then they put him into another care home. And I ended up in here but half of it I don’t remember [such as] being in hospital. I remember collapsing in the bathroom and I don’t remember any more for weeks. (Amy, resident for 8 months). Many residents actually found the reasons for their admission suspicious, unusual or remarkable as they had scant recollection of the circumstances leading up to it. This moves beyond Deetz, for rather than communication serving to aid colonization, many residents were excluded entirely from the decision-making process. With relative ease their options became fewer and they had little or no ability to resist. At the immediate point of entry it also became clear that admission to a care home represented a critical move away from an independent life. This was frequently reflected in moving accounts of the recognition that they would not be allowed to go home at all. The following extended interview extract illustrates this transition to realising that returning home was no longer an option. In addition, it shows how the closure of the decision, and the process of (Foucault 1979) the resident ‘disciplining’ to accept their new circumstances, was achieved. In this account, there appears little that the resident could have said that would have allowed her to visit her home again, for the staff had ‘instructions’: I can’t remember much about my first days here at all. I resented being here very much - but that had nothing to do with the place, it was just me. I don’t know whether you know, [but] I came in under rather peculiar circumstances, so I believe. Apparently I collapsed at home and was found unconscious and taken to hospital. Of course I know nothing about that. I wasn’t expected to live and my son was sent for. But I lost my memory. I didn’t recognise him at all. And apparently I had a slight stroke as well. And I got over that and I
What is surprising, however, is that some residents considered such states as temporary: Well I had to come in here because I was looking my husband who had dementia and in the finish I collapsed. I’d lost three stone in weight. And I had a bit of a gammy leg and I couldn’t look after myself. So that’s why. And I’d collapsed and then they put him into another care home. And I ended up in here but half of it I don’t remember [such as] being in hospital. I remember collapsing in the bathroom and I don’t remember any more for weeks. (Amy, resident for 8 months). Many residents actually found the reasons for their admission suspicious, unusual or remarkable as they had scant recollection of the circumstances leading up to it. This moves beyond Deetz, for rather than communication serving to aid colonization, many residents were excluded entirely from the decision-making process. With relative ease their options became fewer and they had little or no ability to resist. At the immediate point of entry it also became clear that admission to a care home represented a critical move away from an independent life. This was frequently reflected in moving accounts of the recognition that they would not be allowed to go home at all. The following extended interview extract illustrates this transition to realising that returning home was no longer an option. In addition, it shows how the closure of the decision, and the process of ‘disciplining’ (Foucault 1979) the resident to accept their new circumstances, was achieved. In this account, there appears little that the resident could have said that would have allowed her to visit her home again, for the staff had ‘instructions’: I can’t remember much about my first days here at all. I resented being here very much - but that had nothing to do with the place, it was just me. I don’t know whether you know, [but] I came in under rather peculiar circumstances, so I believe. Apparently I collapsed at home and was found unconscious and taken to hospital. Of course I know nothing about that. I wasn’t expected to live and my son was sent for. But I lost my memory. I didn’t recognise him at all. And apparently I had a slight stroke as well. And I got over that and I