I received a call from Dr. Pitkin one day. It seems a lady had to go to the hospital and she needed a place for her husband to stay while she was gone. They were both in their late 80”s. The problem with Albert was, he was in a wheelchair because he had no legs. Doc( I always called Dr. Pitkin, Doc) said Albert was really very good at dressing & caring for himself, so I said sure. Albert was a gentleman from the “old school” Extremely good natured man with a twinkle in his eyes and excellent manners. He really tried to take care of his own needs with little or no help. He always wore a smile and loved to talk, mostly about his wife. His wife, Lulu, was a retired school teacher and she knew Gertrude,( from a previous story.) The had taught school together for several years. Albert told us that Lulu told him to mind his manners at our place. She was also very jealous of him. He said it used to be when he went out in his garden to pull weeds, if the neighbor lady came out Lulu made him come in the house. He was really proud of her. They had never been separated and he really missed her. Their 62nd anniversary was the next day so I arranged with the hospital for Albert to call Lulu. I remember most of the conversation was “Yes, Dear”!!!!”Yes Dear”!! Than he said “ There are no young women here!!” I really loved that part.!! I must have been elderly than and just didn't know it !!The next day for lunch I served soup and sandwiches. Albert watched Gertrude very carefully. When she was almost done she picked the bowl up and drank the broth. Albert sat there a few minutes and than did the same thing. When lunch was over Albert went to his room for a nap. Than he told me “ If Gertrude can drink from the bowl, so can I and Lulu can't complain”!!! (:>)!!
It was always a pleasure to care for men who had always been “gentlemen” but than of course there are the others. The ones who have no manners or respect for themselves and the rest of the world.
I had one of them, very early in the business. I received a call from a lady who needed a place for her father who was in his 80's. He was in the hospital and was due to be discharged but could not go home. You know the answer to that one—he came the next day. Homer was definitely not from the “old school”!! He used a wheel chair and got around very slowly. Never had very many nice things to say. He was the type who hated the world. Everyone just kind of stayed clear and he stayed in his room a lot. He was married to a woman in her late thirties who had a blind daughter , 7 years old. She thought by marrying him she would inherit his house and property. He never told her 20 years ago he put everything in his son's name and he had nothing except his social security check. When he was due to be discharged from the hospital she refused to take care of him. Homer had a terrible habit of always trying to look down someones blouse. Once he even grabbed one of the aides , you know where. I finally told him if he did anything like that again I would call Dr. Pitkin and see to it he was put in a nursing home. He behaved for a while but eventually he was back to his old tricks. He had a heart attack a few months later and went to the hospital. He treated the nursing staff the same way he treated me. When attempting to put a catheter in he had a lot of horrible comments to make about the way the nurse had to hold his penis to insert the catheter. Through it all she maintained her professionalism!!! I thought how professional she was and my admiration for nurses went way up. It just goes to show all the jobs are not easy ,by any means.. .He died about two weeks later. His daughter used to stop and visit him but she said he was always like that and the daughters just didn't like to visit him. I could understand why. I always tried to treat everyone the same but there were the ones like him you just could not even give a hug!!!After he died the daughter asked me to go with her to the house and see what was left. She said his wife had moved out a month before but she was afraid to go alone. So , of course, I went with her. This is one of the worst places I ever saw. The dirty dishes were all over the floor, it looked like when you finished a meal you just pushed everything on the floor. The clothing was a least a foot deep in every room. Some of the clothes still had price tags on them and the only thing I could think of was someone shop lifting. How a blind child lived here was beyond me. I could not figure out how a blind child walked around in this filthy mess nor how Homer got around in his wheelchair!!! In the mess was about 75 “taped stories” from the blind, which evidently was sent for the child to listen to. I did help gather all these up and took them to the post office. You could not see the floor anywhere. It made you think the one who got the worst end of the whole mess was the little 7 year old blind child......
Love Red
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Friday, January 18, 2008
BEING A PROFESSIONAL CAREGIVER
I must say I am sorry to be so long in posting a blog. I have been so busy with my job that it just took all my time. I am caring for a lady who has been sent to the hospital to be prepared for dialysis. This is so hard to see. She made the choice and the family has always tried to respect their parents wishes. It is always so great to be involved with a family that cares for their parents.
This is what is so very very hard at being a caretaker. I love my “patients” dearly. I was told many times,over the years, to be “professional” about this but I never could figure out how you did that. No matter what you do for the people they are always so grateful and just to put a smile on their face makes my day. After all--- what do they have in life. They are not going out to dinner, shopping, to the movies, or visiting friends. They are dependent on their families and friends for everything. If they become a little “short” with the person trying to care for them so what???? they need someone to listen at times and this is part of our job. I gave many hugs to people over time. I never heard anyone complain and most of the time I got one back. When anyone got depressed and wanted to cry I had the answer-- I always said if we are going to cry I will get a box of Kleenex and next Tuesday we will sit at the table and just cry. This always worked and later someone would say thank you for being there and listening!!
When I was young---yes I was once----(:>) my Mother & my sister, Joy, worked in a Nursing Home. I guess this is where I got some of the education about old people. Way back in the 50's you put your folks in a nursing home and that was that. My Mother always felt sorry for them—like they were deserted or just left to die.
One of the saddest memories was of my sister, Susie. Susie got Multiple Sclerosis when she was 30. She had 5 small children at that time and it was so terrible . She was put in a nursing home because it was so bad she couldn't walk and very slowly the disease took over her whole body. Life in a nursing home was not easy. So many of her personal things were stolen or ” borrowed” by others. Her perfumes , clothing, any gifts we sent were gone and no one seemed to care or know what happened to them. I sent her a large floral arrangement one year at Christmas. I live in NY & she was in Indiana. I specified that there was to be a lot of miniature animals on this because she loved that. Christmas morning when my sister,Joy, called I asked how Sue liked her flowers. She said “ What Flowers”?? I called the nursing home and it got very interesting. First they said they had no idea what I was talking about. I won't go through all the conversations but the end result was I told the lady on the phone the flower arrangement better be back in her room by morning and if it wasn't back I would call the Police Department. Surprise!!!Surprise!! It was there by evening!! How can people steal from helpless people?? She couldn't even yell for help if necessary.
Sue was a very religious person and she developed a “friendship” with a “healer”. This healer had Sue believing she would be healed if she went to a revival meeting in Chicago. Some of the nurses got together and took her there. This was not easy because it was a four hour drive from the nursing home to get there. Sue would do anything to get better. When Sue finally got there and the “healer” placed her hands on her absolutely nothing happened!! This was just devastating to her. Sue had been so sure she would be cured. These people had done a terrible thing to her with their lies and promises. She thought God had deserted her and it was horrible. It took a long time but she finally found God again and she started to gain interest in things. To watch her over the years was so hard. She loved her kids but it was at the point where she could no longer even talk to them.
She developed pneumonia and went to the hospital. I flew home and she was hooked up to so many machines. We asked to have them stopped but it was unheard of. She just wanted to die. The only way to communicate was for her to blink her eyes. One blink was yes and two was no. Sometimes she blinked three times and would smile!! She was finally sent back to the nursing home and she died in her sleep. I said than no one in my family would ever be placed in a nursing home and since than no one has.
I know there are great nursing homes now but I prefer to take care of my family while I can.
No one knows how long they have. I am happy when I wake up on the right side of the grass---like the man said, “There is no sign hanging off your toe that reads “EXPIRES ON_______!!!!s So enjoy life ......until the next time........
Love Red
This is what is so very very hard at being a caretaker. I love my “patients” dearly. I was told many times,over the years, to be “professional” about this but I never could figure out how you did that. No matter what you do for the people they are always so grateful and just to put a smile on their face makes my day. After all--- what do they have in life. They are not going out to dinner, shopping, to the movies, or visiting friends. They are dependent on their families and friends for everything. If they become a little “short” with the person trying to care for them so what???? they need someone to listen at times and this is part of our job. I gave many hugs to people over time. I never heard anyone complain and most of the time I got one back. When anyone got depressed and wanted to cry I had the answer-- I always said if we are going to cry I will get a box of Kleenex and next Tuesday we will sit at the table and just cry. This always worked and later someone would say thank you for being there and listening!!
When I was young---yes I was once----(:>) my Mother & my sister, Joy, worked in a Nursing Home. I guess this is where I got some of the education about old people. Way back in the 50's you put your folks in a nursing home and that was that. My Mother always felt sorry for them—like they were deserted or just left to die.
One of the saddest memories was of my sister, Susie. Susie got Multiple Sclerosis when she was 30. She had 5 small children at that time and it was so terrible . She was put in a nursing home because it was so bad she couldn't walk and very slowly the disease took over her whole body. Life in a nursing home was not easy. So many of her personal things were stolen or ” borrowed” by others. Her perfumes , clothing, any gifts we sent were gone and no one seemed to care or know what happened to them. I sent her a large floral arrangement one year at Christmas. I live in NY & she was in Indiana. I specified that there was to be a lot of miniature animals on this because she loved that. Christmas morning when my sister,Joy, called I asked how Sue liked her flowers. She said “ What Flowers”?? I called the nursing home and it got very interesting. First they said they had no idea what I was talking about. I won't go through all the conversations but the end result was I told the lady on the phone the flower arrangement better be back in her room by morning and if it wasn't back I would call the Police Department. Surprise!!!Surprise!! It was there by evening!! How can people steal from helpless people?? She couldn't even yell for help if necessary.
Sue was a very religious person and she developed a “friendship” with a “healer”. This healer had Sue believing she would be healed if she went to a revival meeting in Chicago. Some of the nurses got together and took her there. This was not easy because it was a four hour drive from the nursing home to get there. Sue would do anything to get better. When Sue finally got there and the “healer” placed her hands on her absolutely nothing happened!! This was just devastating to her. Sue had been so sure she would be cured. These people had done a terrible thing to her with their lies and promises. She thought God had deserted her and it was horrible. It took a long time but she finally found God again and she started to gain interest in things. To watch her over the years was so hard. She loved her kids but it was at the point where she could no longer even talk to them.
She developed pneumonia and went to the hospital. I flew home and she was hooked up to so many machines. We asked to have them stopped but it was unheard of. She just wanted to die. The only way to communicate was for her to blink her eyes. One blink was yes and two was no. Sometimes she blinked three times and would smile!! She was finally sent back to the nursing home and she died in her sleep. I said than no one in my family would ever be placed in a nursing home and since than no one has.
I know there are great nursing homes now but I prefer to take care of my family while I can.
No one knows how long they have. I am happy when I wake up on the right side of the grass---like the man said, “There is no sign hanging off your toe that reads “EXPIRES ON_______!!!!s So enjoy life ......until the next time........
Love Red
Tuesday, January 1, 2008
GETTING STARTED
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
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
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
Friday, December 21, 2007
Smoking or No Smoking
I was asked recently what my rules were for smoking in my home. . I am sorry to say I smoked also and it was easy for rules with me. You had to go out doors for a cigarette and I was surprised that anyone would. I was a heavy smoker—up to 4 packs a day!!! Now I wonder how I managed but it just seemed like I lit one and put it down and than another. Dr. Pitkin tried many times to get me to quit but I was not to smart. I thought I could escape the bad effects. That thought stayed with me for many years and than my husband died. He did not have lung cancer so I still thought I was OK. Than my second husband died and this was from lung cancer!! Now I am getting worried and the final blow was when my sister dies from lung cancer.
I decided I better do something because this was serious. I was diagnosed as COPD. I knew now I had to quit but nothing seemed to work Than I discovered the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota. I called and they got me in for the eight day program. This is easy to do—all you need to do is look up Mayo Clinic Rochester Minnesota and look for the NICOTINE DEPENDENCE CENTER. This is a remarkable place. You only stay for 8 days ( a lot of insurance programs pay for this ) and when you are out eight days later your smoke free!! I am happy to say I have never smoked again. I can't believe it only took 8 days to quit when I tried for many years!!! My big regret is I didn't quit sooner.
I had a lady who had lung cancer and was on oxygen 24 hours . She was so nice but so sick, weighed about 90 pounds. It was very hard for her to even walk to the table to eat let alone go to the bathroom. She just loved living in my home-thought this was just the cats meow!! Than one day the great STATE OF NEW YORK decided I could not have people on oxygen. It seems you had to be a nurse to set the dial on the oxygen machine. It didn't matter that I had been in business for 20 years they knew more than me. Of course I had many folks on oxygen, dear reader, over the years. The thing that made this so bad was she wanted to stay in my home for her last days. I made a phone call and asked if someone could let me know when the state was going to do an inspection. The person agreed so I waited. Sure enough one morning I got a phone call and all the person said was “Today is it”. There was no name or anything. So we waited. I had told Lucy what was going on and she knew she would lose her oxygen for about 10 minutes. It wasn't long and the inspector arrived. When they came in we introduced everyone and they went to check on the bedrooms. As soon as they came out of the bedroom Lucy said she needed to go to the bathroom. We were lucky because I had four bathrooms. Lucy goes in the bathroom and yells out she is going to take a shower. I said that was ok to go right ahead. I asked her if she needed help and she said “No”!! About 5 minutes later the inspector left and we rescued Lucy from the bathroom where she set with her oxygen on and the water just running. She had the biggest smile on you ever saw!!! We had put the oxygen machine in the tub and draped the shower curtain over it. It worked. Lucy lived about three more months and died in her sleep but I know she was happy to be where she was loved. Lucy was a person who only had her Social Security and there were not many places you could live on that but she was one of "My People" so she stayed. I always tried to cooperate with the state but I dealt with people not rules. If I complied with their rules many people would not have been with me, dear reader, but I will save that story for another time.....
Love to all Red
I decided I better do something because this was serious. I was diagnosed as COPD. I knew now I had to quit but nothing seemed to work Than I discovered the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota. I called and they got me in for the eight day program. This is easy to do—all you need to do is look up Mayo Clinic Rochester Minnesota and look for the NICOTINE DEPENDENCE CENTER. This is a remarkable place. You only stay for 8 days ( a lot of insurance programs pay for this ) and when you are out eight days later your smoke free!! I am happy to say I have never smoked again. I can't believe it only took 8 days to quit when I tried for many years!!! My big regret is I didn't quit sooner.
I had a lady who had lung cancer and was on oxygen 24 hours . She was so nice but so sick, weighed about 90 pounds. It was very hard for her to even walk to the table to eat let alone go to the bathroom. She just loved living in my home-thought this was just the cats meow!! Than one day the great STATE OF NEW YORK decided I could not have people on oxygen. It seems you had to be a nurse to set the dial on the oxygen machine. It didn't matter that I had been in business for 20 years they knew more than me. Of course I had many folks on oxygen, dear reader, over the years. The thing that made this so bad was she wanted to stay in my home for her last days. I made a phone call and asked if someone could let me know when the state was going to do an inspection. The person agreed so I waited. Sure enough one morning I got a phone call and all the person said was “Today is it”. There was no name or anything. So we waited. I had told Lucy what was going on and she knew she would lose her oxygen for about 10 minutes. It wasn't long and the inspector arrived. When they came in we introduced everyone and they went to check on the bedrooms. As soon as they came out of the bedroom Lucy said she needed to go to the bathroom. We were lucky because I had four bathrooms. Lucy goes in the bathroom and yells out she is going to take a shower. I said that was ok to go right ahead. I asked her if she needed help and she said “No”!! About 5 minutes later the inspector left and we rescued Lucy from the bathroom where she set with her oxygen on and the water just running. She had the biggest smile on you ever saw!!! We had put the oxygen machine in the tub and draped the shower curtain over it. It worked. Lucy lived about three more months and died in her sleep but I know she was happy to be where she was loved. Lucy was a person who only had her Social Security and there were not many places you could live on that but she was one of "My People" so she stayed. I always tried to cooperate with the state but I dealt with people not rules. If I complied with their rules many people would not have been with me, dear reader, but I will save that story for another time.....
Love to all Red
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
Elderly Wearing Make-up
I realize I haven't posted anything for a while and I am sorry for the delay. I took a few days off for my daughters wedding and than eye surgery. My daughters wedding was just lovely even if the piano player didn't show because we had a storm. Imagine that!!!! The only terrible part of the wedding was the fact that the bakery where she ordered the cake forgot to make it!! I do not understand how this happened but the Hotel came through with a small cake. This will be a story for her to tell for a long time but it could have been worse.... she could have been stood up!! They managed to get married and leave on a cruise before the big snow storm hit so it ended nicely.
I had eye surgery the next morning to correct a drooping eye lid. I asked the Doctor if he could fix my whole body but he declined. I really droop in places (:>)!! I figure all the marks and wrinkles have a story of their own and why ruin this piece of art by looking beautiful??? I remember one time when I had Fran Williams, a dear friend, do my make-up. She worked very hard and it took quite a while. I must confess I really did look great. When I went to pick up my grandchildren they didn't know me so that was the end of make-up. I just go with what I have and smile a lot.
It is rather ironic as we get older we do not worry so much about that. With my people I could count on my hand the number of ladies who still put on make-up.
There was a lady called Mary, who was about 84 when she came to my home. She had fallen in her home and broke her wrist and when someone finally checked on her it had healed quite crooked. Mary was about 5'4” and very pretty for her age. She had been a blond but now was a silver color and from her pictures you could tell she was really a beautiful lady. Mary was very cheerful, always laughing and really enjoyed telling stories.I asked her once why she never married and she said “If you get married you only get one fur coat and I have three!!” She had worked as a waitress in many classy places in Saratoga and at one time had waited on Sophia Tucker. Sophia gave Mary 3 $1.00 bills which she signed and told Mary someday they would be worth money. Mary still had them when she came to live in my home. I remember when Mary told us how her father was a boot-legger. He had a garage with doors on both ends. When he came home he put the car in the garage than later in the evening he “loaded” it and drove out the other end. During the day he repaired shoes!! She remembered going to the Lakehouse with her boyfriend and Al Capone's bodyguards sat on the roof with guns. When Mary was telling stories everyone was listening. They forgot all their problems just listening to Mary.
It was always interesting how my people would look out for each other. I will write more about Mary later because she gave so much if herself to all who knew her.
I know blogs are supposed to be short but it is hard to write short stories about some people, dear readers, so please let me know if they are too long....
Love Red
I had eye surgery the next morning to correct a drooping eye lid. I asked the Doctor if he could fix my whole body but he declined. I really droop in places (:>)!! I figure all the marks and wrinkles have a story of their own and why ruin this piece of art by looking beautiful??? I remember one time when I had Fran Williams, a dear friend, do my make-up. She worked very hard and it took quite a while. I must confess I really did look great. When I went to pick up my grandchildren they didn't know me so that was the end of make-up. I just go with what I have and smile a lot.
It is rather ironic as we get older we do not worry so much about that. With my people I could count on my hand the number of ladies who still put on make-up.
There was a lady called Mary, who was about 84 when she came to my home. She had fallen in her home and broke her wrist and when someone finally checked on her it had healed quite crooked. Mary was about 5'4” and very pretty for her age. She had been a blond but now was a silver color and from her pictures you could tell she was really a beautiful lady. Mary was very cheerful, always laughing and really enjoyed telling stories.I asked her once why she never married and she said “If you get married you only get one fur coat and I have three!!” She had worked as a waitress in many classy places in Saratoga and at one time had waited on Sophia Tucker. Sophia gave Mary 3 $1.00 bills which she signed and told Mary someday they would be worth money. Mary still had them when she came to live in my home. I remember when Mary told us how her father was a boot-legger. He had a garage with doors on both ends. When he came home he put the car in the garage than later in the evening he “loaded” it and drove out the other end. During the day he repaired shoes!! She remembered going to the Lakehouse with her boyfriend and Al Capone's bodyguards sat on the roof with guns. When Mary was telling stories everyone was listening. They forgot all their problems just listening to Mary.
It was always interesting how my people would look out for each other. I will write more about Mary later because she gave so much if herself to all who knew her.
I know blogs are supposed to be short but it is hard to write short stories about some people, dear readers, so please let me know if they are too long....
Love Red
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
Gifts for the Elderly
I read an article the other day about gifts for the elderly. It seems like everyone has an idea on this subject but what I find interesting is no one asks them what they like. They want COMPANY!!!!They love having visitors stop. You don't have to spend the day,dear reader, but try for half an hour. What is thirty minutes of your time?? They have all day to kill time and 24 hours can feel like forever when someone has a visitor and you have none! To sit and chat about the neighbors or kids and if your stuck for conversation just ask a question about their past. The elderly love to talk about the time gone by ( I know I am one also) but make them feel like you care. You hear and read that the best thing you can do is send magazines or buy stationary and stamped envelopes. Do you realize most of them have a hard time writing ? I know they like reading but this is what they do when no one visits. You could volunteer to take them for a ride to see decorations.
My people could not get enough of decorating—even went so far as to decorate the bathroom.
One thing I should mention is do not bring food without checking first.
I had one gentleman who would “steal” anything he could to eat and he was a diabetic.
I discovered this by accident and it was very ingenious the way he pulled it off. When my people sat down to eat it was always as a family. Everyone came to the table, we had a prayer and than they would eat. I had taken in an extra person ( what else is new) so there was not enough room for me to sit with them. I was keeping up light conversation and Harold asked for a slice of bread. I reminded him he was to only eat one slice per meal and he said I didn't get any. I was sure he had but gave him one and figured I had goofed up. I could do that a lot when we were busy. I was standing by the table and saw Pete( who sat next to Harold) very slowly edge his hand under the edge of the table and reach the bread and pull it right off the plate!!! I told him to stop and he said he was so hungry he just had to take food. Pete was about 6'2” and probably weighed 200 so he had no problem but wanted FOOD!!!!
He wasn't the only one who could do this. I had a lady named Anita who would take anything food or otherwise and hide it in her room. We were always checking her dresser for what ever was missing.
When I called the Emergency Squad one time my sister ,Esther, ran to help me with the lady who had fallen. On the way she put her glasses on the table. After everyone left we could not find Esther's glasses. We went through everything , all the rooms, asked the people but to no avail.
That night when I leaned over to give Anita a kiss goodnight I felt this object in her pillowcase and guess what glasses!!! She said someone must have put them there because she wouldn't do that-------
Love to all, Red
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