I am going to be talking about how I got started taking care of the elderly. It was really something I had not planned on or even thought about. My husband was a truck driver and I only had one daughter so I was bored.
I had the nicest neighbors in the world. They were both school teachers and we visited back and forth a lot. Many times when I knew they would be getting out of school I made fresh coffee and took it over and we would have coffee and discuss things. One day Phyllis told me of the hard time they were having with her Grandmother who was 93. It seemed her Grandmother lived with her daughter. The Grandmother, Gertrude, was supposed to go to Syracuse and stay with her other daughter for six months. Well, she couldn't go this year because she was having trouble going up and down stairs and the bathroom was on the second floor. Phyllis's Mother needed a break from caring for her and they didn't know what to do. Back than there was no facilities, only Nursing Homes and she sure didn't qualify for that. I volunteered to take care of her. I said I had a bedroom downstairs and she could stay with us for six months and my husband and I would move upstairs!! After all she was in good health and her mind was very good . Everybody thought this was just great. So we moved Gertrude in for six months.
I did not know this would change my world than. This lady was remarkable. She had been a school teacher and taught in a one room school house. I learned so much from her it was remarkable. She was a member of the WCTU (Women's Christian Temperance Association) and very proud of it. There was no drinking in our house so this was not a problem. One time she got sick and I called her Dr. He came ( we were lucky in this town because they made house calls). He recommended she have a glass of wine before dinner to help her digestive system!! She was so upset she informed him she didn't drink and he should be ashamed of himself for encouraging the use of alcohol! Than she refused to pay him for the visit. It was never mentioned again. She belonged to the Eastern Star and had a secret sister. This was a very proud thing for her. Gertrude spent a lot of time knitting. She would sit by the window looking out and just knit away. She never knit on Sunday. Never!! I asked her why she was so quiet on Sunday and she said she spent the day just counting her blessings and it always took all day. She said she had so many blessings she just had to spend the day thanking God for what she had. I asked her how she kept her mind so sharp and she said she never missed the 6:00 news on TV. She wanted to know what was going on in the world. One time we were watching the news and there was an advertisement for birth control pills. She listened very intently and when it was over she said , with a twinkle in her eyes,” I am not sure what he was talking about but I don't think I need to worry at my age!!!” Than there was the time she had a headache and I offered her a Tylenol. She informed me she didn't need medicine she would just concentrate for a while and it would go away and it did. Gertrude had came to my home in June and was to go back to her daughter's in December. I was sure going to miss her she was just so interesting.
Than in November my daughter was in a car accident. She was hit head on by another driver, who died. My daughter was in the ER when we saw her. She had broken ribs , broken a couple of fingers, large cut on her face, broken wrist , torn kneecap. The Dr. said she would be fine we just had to wait for everything to heal.
He thought there were no major problems and we could go home and when they had the cast on he would call us. Of course we were so relieved to know it wasn't to bad. It was about 5:30 am and we headed home because I had to get Gertrude up for breakfast.
About 10:00 am the phone rang and the Dr. said we needed to come right back to the hospital something was very wrong. We left immediately and went there. The Doctor said they had discovered her lungs had collapsed and the steering wheel had hit her chest with a glancing blow and her aorta vessel could rupture at any time. They could not fly her to Albany Med because even the jolt of the elevator could kill her. The only thing they could do was operate immediately. This operation had never been done before in the Glens Falls hospital but it was the only chance she had. I remember walking down the hallway and telling her she had to go upstairs but she better remember her Mother was waiting for her. Her Father talked to her for a few minutes and we walked out towards the waiting room. Beside the waiting room was the ladies room. I went in the ladies room, got on my knees and told God if he would give me back my daughter I would devote my life to taking care of people. I got her back and I have , since that day, devoted my life to taking care of people.
It is amazing how fast your life can change. My life, as I knew it, was over and I had made a turn in another direction. It was going to be a long road but very interesting.
I will close, dear friend, and continue with this story next time.
Love to all Red
Tuesday, January 1, 2008
Monday, December 31, 2007
PEACE AND QUIET
I am so glad to have the holidays over!! I miss the time I spent with my people and the fun and the laughter. Everything always seemed so beautiful and we always watched for the snow. The biggest treat for my people was if a deer happened to walk by the big window. That was the ultimate enjoyment.
The only time it seemed to get hectic was when I would get a call on Fridays about 4:30 and some one would say " I need a bed for a "little old lady"!! I wonder where that phrase came from. It was never for a old woman , large female, old man but a " little old lady! When the call came on Fridays at 4:30 it was always the Department of Adult Protective Services and they knew the answer before they called. Of course we always made room.
This was for a lady, Anna, who needed a place for some rest and peace. Her family was really giving her a hard time. The family was well known in this area and it seemed each daughter (3) and son (1) wanted power of attorney. Than there was the question of who was getting what!! I never seen so much arguing. They woul;d come to visit their Mother one by one and it was always the same. It got to the point where the family was asking my employees who said what to their Mother when they weren't here!!Of course everyone was upset because it bothered them to see such actions from a family. Anna had severe rheumatoid arthritis and a colostomy so she was not in great health. I finally suggested she hire an attorney and stop all the arguing. It took some talking but she finally did and what a relief for us. She told her children she had given power of attorney to a lawyer and made out a will. You would have thought the world had stopped to hear them. After that they didn't come to see her much more. She had a stroke and ended up in a nursing home. I always said I hoped she lived long enough for the nursing home to take all her money.
I saw so much of this over the years, dear reader, and it was always so sad.
I remember telling my Mother to spend her money because she sure earned it. Just raising me was hard enough (:>)!!! but there were seven others in the family.
Mom also took care of my Grandparents for three years and than went to college! My Father was so shocked when she said she was going to college at the age of 50. He couldn't believe she would do that--it wasn't what you did back than. Mom went anyway and when she graduated you would have thought it was his idea !! Than she taught school for ten years so she deserved to have anything she wanted.
I must close dear friend, but I will post more in a couple of days. I want to take time to wish everyone
HAPPY NEW YEAR
Love to all Red
The only time it seemed to get hectic was when I would get a call on Fridays about 4:30 and some one would say " I need a bed for a "little old lady"!! I wonder where that phrase came from. It was never for a old woman , large female, old man but a " little old lady! When the call came on Fridays at 4:30 it was always the Department of Adult Protective Services and they knew the answer before they called. Of course we always made room.
This was for a lady, Anna, who needed a place for some rest and peace. Her family was really giving her a hard time. The family was well known in this area and it seemed each daughter (3) and son (1) wanted power of attorney. Than there was the question of who was getting what!! I never seen so much arguing. They woul;d come to visit their Mother one by one and it was always the same. It got to the point where the family was asking my employees who said what to their Mother when they weren't here!!Of course everyone was upset because it bothered them to see such actions from a family. Anna had severe rheumatoid arthritis and a colostomy so she was not in great health. I finally suggested she hire an attorney and stop all the arguing. It took some talking but she finally did and what a relief for us. She told her children she had given power of attorney to a lawyer and made out a will. You would have thought the world had stopped to hear them. After that they didn't come to see her much more. She had a stroke and ended up in a nursing home. I always said I hoped she lived long enough for the nursing home to take all her money.
I saw so much of this over the years, dear reader, and it was always so sad.
I remember telling my Mother to spend her money because she sure earned it. Just raising me was hard enough (:>)!!! but there were seven others in the family.
Mom also took care of my Grandparents for three years and than went to college! My Father was so shocked when she said she was going to college at the age of 50. He couldn't believe she would do that--it wasn't what you did back than. Mom went anyway and when she graduated you would have thought it was his idea !! Than she taught school for ten years so she deserved to have anything she wanted.
I must close dear friend, but I will post more in a couple of days. I want to take time to wish everyone
HAPPY NEW YEAR
Love to all Red
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