Location: The Imperial Nursing Home
Date: Thursday, February 12, 2015; 6:30-7:45 pm
I had done this exact project on ‘Valentine’s Day’ 2 years ago. Two years is a long time, but the more things
change, the more they stay the same. It
was a familiar setting that I found myself in and I arrived to find that our Volunteer leader, Nell was
already there with another volunteer.
Nell asked if I had volunteered with Chicago Cares before and I replied,
“You could say that”. She said that we would be competing with a ‘Valentine’s Day’ party that was already
in progress, and looking inside I could see some younger folk. This meant that some people’s families were
visiting and while that was great, it also meant that we would have to relocate
to the 5th floor for our project.
Nell and I chatted about her job, which was at a place called ‘Feeding America’, which supports over
250 Food Banks across the nation, including ‘GCFD’; who in turn support shelters and soup kitchens.
I asked if these food banks cover every square inch of the nation and
they do – including Alaska and Hawaii.
 |
| The magnificent flowers |
Other volunteers filtered in, including a married couple and
another whom I had met at Lakeview Nursing, during the ‘Pet Therapy’ project. We
were waiting in the lobby by the most exquisite looking flowers, which at first
looked artificial, but were very much real.
Nell said that one of the volunteers is taking it home after the project. We
went inside and as we walked to the elevators, we were invited to join the
party, or at least have some wine. I
said that with wine in the mix, there was no way that we were going to convince the
residents to come to our event! We
arrived on the 5th floor and there were only a few residents
present. There were no decorations over
here as from 2 years ago, when artificial rose petals had been sprinkled on
each table. I asked a few to join us,
but as I have learned during over the trivia events here, the residents here are a little bit more impaired than others.
I went outside to “recruit”
some residents and came back with a lady.
I sat down and she introduced herself as
Betty. She asked if I was from India
and I said that indeed I was. She said
that she had just had a hernia procedure done a few weeks ago and was now on
the mend. She said that soon she would
move to the housing section next door and have her own refrigerator and a
stove. I asked if she had any friends
here and she said a few, but not really.
I asked why she had not gone down for the party and she said because
there were people with families there and she did not have any family. But she did have family, a son, several
grandchildren - including twin girls - and some great grandchildren. She even imitated a little 2 year old and the
way he looks at everyone suspiciously. I
asked how often do they visit and she said not a lot, but brushed it off saying
everyone’s busy. Yeah, everyone is and
life goes on.
The game started and our caller was going really fast,
meaning I had to keep track of Betty’s cards as well as mine. Though she was sharp, she did say her
eyesight was not what it used to be. I
asked when had she moved to Chicago and she said a long time ago, in her
20s. I said, oh, you mean 10 years
ago! Always the charmer! She said that she had come from Bethlehem PA,
a small steel town and there was nothing there.
I won on the very first round and asked Betty to pick a prize. There was the usual spread and initially she
was intrigued by some body-lotion, but then Nell showed her a Violet water
bottle and since I love that color, convinced her to take that.
There was a huge influx of residents now and the room was
getting full. One lady walked in and she
looked - and was dressed - like some British royalty. One gentleman joined our table and I asked
his name, which he said was Don. He
seemed quiet, but smiled every now and then, and was quite sharp. We were going through a terrible dry spell while
the other tables were winning. One guy
kept saying “Bingo respect”, though I
did not understand what that meant. Betty kept repeating about her medical procedure and moving back to her independent housing -
with her own refrigerator and stove. I
asked what she would do with her own stove and she said that she would
cook. I asked what would she cook and she
said she doesn’t, and would get things from the café downstairs. So I asked why would she need the stove, but
I knew what she meant. It was more than
a stove. It was independence. I often wonder if they just imagine it or
will they really be able to leave. I
asked Betty what other activities they have here and she said “Ice cream social”. I asked what flavor she liked and she said “Vanilla, with whipped cream and chocolate
sauce”. I said, “Me too”. “Strawberry”, I heard from the other
side and it was the first time Don had spoken without being asked a
question. Nothing like ice cream to get
people going!
We were getting close to the end and Don won twice…on
the same card. Betty said that now he will be playing for “Bingo respect”, since he had won twice
and was not eligible any more. So that’s
what it means. I took the gifts over to
Don and he chooses some soap and a book of puzzles. The game was over and that was good since
Betty kept saying that she was tired.
Nell and the other volunteers distributed sweets, including sugar free
ones. I said that the folks at my table loved ice cream and probably would not
care too much for sugar free stuff. Sure enough Betty had not taken the sugar
free candy, but the real one. We left
after an evening that had started off slowly, but was a huge success at the
end. The party was still on downstairs
and as I walked out, I saw the old lady who looked like royalty having a smoke. Good for you Madam, after all it is the ‘Valentine’s Day’ party.
*All the client's names have been changed in order to respect their privacy
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