Location: Lakeview Nursing and Rehabilitation Center
Date: Monday, February 03, 2014; 6:15-7:45 pm
I arrived early and saw that no
other volunteer was there. So I went
over to the main room and chatted with Jim, Jack and Elmer. Jim was in a feisty mood and said that he
wanted to get away from this place and in his own apartment. I have heard that being said by many
residents over here but week after week I always find them there. Elmer was wearing some keys around his neck
and I asked him about them. He said that
they were keys to the chest of drawers in his room. Both, he and Jim, said that things in Lakeview
Nursing have a tendency of “walking away”. Now, that I have heard as well. We talked about the candles that we had made
yesterday and Jim said that he couldn't have any candles around with his oxygen
tank. I agreed with him and asked Elmer if he was giving his ‘Valentine’s Day’
influenced candle to some young lady. “Perhaps”, he replied.
.JPG) |
| Even with wheels he's a handsome creature |
I went to the room where the dogs
usually gather and while there were 3 other volunteers besides Fran, no dogs
had arrived yet. Soon our Volunteer
leader Veronica came, but there were still no dogs. Finally a volunteer arrived with her dog
Mandy. He was very well behaved and sat
on his hind legs, awaiting instructions.
I noticed that Mandy had a ‘Pittsburgh
Steelers’ leash and I chatted with his owner about Pittsburgh and my time
there. Soon, Sam and Jess arrived with their dogs, Shane and Chloe. Being leaders
themselves, they had come to support Veronica on her first day as a leader for
this project; though she leads another project, ‘Game Night At Wesley Place’.
Shane, who has arthritis, was wearing a wheelchair like support for his
hind legs and Sam said that they were only there so as to enable Shane to get a
grip on this flooring, since he tended to slip.
Veronica assigned pairings I was going to be with Sam and Shane. “A boys
night out”, Sam proclaimed.
We started on the 2nd
floor, taking the elevator so as to help Shane.
First up was Loritta and she was expecting us. She was in the mood to talk about Chicago’s
museums and we spent some time exchanging our experiences at different
places. Typically all owners carry
treats for dogs, and Sam was no exception, though he had carrots, since Shane
has diabetes and these are the only things good for him. Even then, Shane was looking forward to these
and would often growl because he wanted them.
I said that I had never seen anyone so excited for carrots. Next we went to see Gloria and seeing Shane
with the wheels, asked how old he was.
When Sam said that he was 13, she said that he was getting up
there. I asked when his birthday was and
Sam said that he wasn’t sure. He had gotten
Shane in January and so that’s when he considers his birthday to be. This pleased Gloria and she said that he
was a ‘Capricorn’ like herself! I asked what qualities ‘Capricorns’ usually possessed and she said they were business
savvy and made quick decisions. To
emphasize that point she said that she owned a business in the city. Wow, I wouldn't have guessed that about her.
We went to Dena’s room and she
asked about Shane’s age as well and then said the same “He’s getting up there”. Why was everyone picking on the poor guys
age! She asked Sam how he had gotten
Shane and he said that he had picked him at the ‘Animal
Anti-Cruelty Society’ when Shane was about 3 years old. She said that he was a beautiful dog and Sam
was lucky to get him. Well, she was
definitely right about that. As we
passed a room, Sam said that its former resident, Ruby had passed
recently. The last time I had seen her, she
was not looking good. Even then, it was
sad to hear. After over a year of volunteering, this was the first instance
of me losing a Senior that I had interacted with. I guess in this line of work it was only a
matter of time till it happened.
We went to the 3rd floor
to visit with Jerry and saw that Jane, one of our Bingo callers, was sitting with
him. Shane was accepting bacon bits from
Jerry, perhaps happy to receive something else besides carrots. While Shane and Jerry played, Sam, Jane and I
discussed the ‘Superbowl’ and Jane
mentioned how she had supported the ‘Seahawks’
because of their brashness, being somewhat similar in her younger days. We were soon joined by Chloe and Jess and
immediately Chloe jumped on the bed and got into a staring contest with Jerry for
bacon bits. Jess said that since Chloe was 9
years old, she was considered a “Senior”
and so it was funny to see these old dogs waiting to get treats with enthusiasm
of pups.
.JPG) |
| Soldier and Johnny B |
We left for our final stop at Hannah’s
and Sam introduced me, though I had been there several times. Hannah asked how my name was pronounced and
then called it “elegant”. Well, this is the first time anyone has said
that. Hannah is working on a book about
her cat Johnny B and another cat Soldier, who is a frequent visitor to this
place. Sam’s helping her type up the
notes and they both started discussing the new draft while I watched Jess try
to give Shane his carrot treats. Because
he bites hard, she was throwing it and whenever he missed, Chloe would pounce
on it. Even with this competition, the
two of them are as inseparable as dogs can be.
It was time to leave and we went
down and met up with the rest of our crew.
I congratulated Veronica on her first successful project as a leader and
mentioned that I would stop by at her other project soon, having enjoyed my previous
visit there. The evening’s Bingo was
over and Emma was on her way upstairs. I
saw that she had won and I congratulated her, as well as complimenting on
her pink attire. As usual she said a
polite thank you. I asked Elmer if he
had won and he said yes, and without cheating!
I chatted with Jim and Larry – whom I hadn't seen in a long time as he
recovered from his illness. I asked them
about the newsletter and they said that it was going well. Jim asked if I was “travelling the city” and I guess he meant volunteering. I said yes I was and then left. I walked to the station with Fran, chatting
about Make-A-Wish, a topic she’s very interested in. It had been a terrific “boys night out”, even though one of us had been in a wheelchair
and jumping up for carrots!
*All the client's names have been changed in order to respect their privacy
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