Location: Lakeview Nursing and Rehabilitation Center
Date: Monday, April 20, 2015; 6:15-7:45 pm
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| Jim's treats |
I arrived early and saw that Jim was settling in at his
usual spot. Once again, he mentioned how
he was enjoying living by himself, though I guess he meant living away from
here. I also saw Josie and Holly and
asked Holly about her birthday. She said
that her entire family had come over including her son and Great granddaughter
named ‘Rival’! She said that there had
been a big feast. I went upstairs to
check on Pearl, but a nurse said that she was in the bathroom. Downstairs, people had started assembling for
Bingo and Holly had taken it upon herself to distribute Bingo supplies to the
residents. She really is full of energy. Emma was brought over and she was wearing her
cute ‘Mario’ t-shirt. When I mentioned that it was good shirt, she
said something about having had a good meal.
I asked what it was, and she said “juices”. I asked what kind and she said “Lemonade and Grape”. Jack had arrived and he was chatting with
Jim. I went over as Jim was examining his
beloved ‘White Sox’ schedule. He had come prepared with treats for the dogs
and just as he opened the bag, we saw first of the dogs arriving.
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| Gronk! |
It was a girl dog named Bailey and unfortunately due to a
sensitive stomach, she could not enjoy any of the treats that Jim had, though
that didn’t stop her from staring at him continuously. There were several other dogs, including a
little 8 month old cutie and a giant 10 month old girl named Gronk! She was 120 lbs. and still growing, but also
one of the gentlest of creatures. Robyn
was our Volunteer leader for today and she was with Bruce and June as
usual. Other than me, everyone else was
new and we had a lot of dogs. She paired
everyone and I was going to be with her, especially since I could help with
either Bruce or June. We started on 1st
floor and most the residents from here were at Bingo. However, there were a couple of ladies that
loved dogs; one said that she had a huge ‘German
Shepherd’ growing up in Poland and a cat.
She became very emotional when talking about her childhood and how the
dog used to wait for her as she went to school.
She had just come to Lakeview Nursing last night and so was pleased to
see such an activity over here.
We moved to 2nd floor and stopped to see Polly and Dena. I put June on the bed with
Polly, so that she could pet her. Poor
Bruce was bumping his head a lot today, but as is his wont, he never
complained. Plus, he would sit whenever
told and sometimes even on his own. I
mentioned to Robyn that he was the nicest dog that I had seen…and I have seen a lot
here. We went over to David’s and as usual
he gave June a massage which she enjoyed thoroughly. Next was a stop to see Loritta, who was
chatty and feisty as usual.
But the most poignant stop was with a gentleman who was blind,
especially since Bruce was here with us and we had seen his struggles in
navigating.
We went over to 3rd floor and stopped to see
Hannah. She was a bit bummed out because
her book had been rejected by some publishers.
It seems that they hadn’t even read the manuscript and she said that she
would have been even more disappointed if they had read it and then rejected it. Next up was Jerry and as is usually the case, both
Bruce and June wanted to get on the bed.
After they had their fill of munching on many of his treats, it was time
for our final stop, which was with Pearl.
She told me about her crusade on improving the living conditions for the
residents. She called herself a “scholar, not a philosopher”. I told her that I was glad to see her looking
better and that she should keep it up.
It was time to leave and I came downstairs to see that Bingo
was over. Jack said that he had won
twice today and was looking pleased about that.
I asked if Emma had won and indeed, she had 2 prizes as well, “Fig Bars” and “Cookies Ahoy”. I opened one of the container's for her and she enjoyed her treats, even offering me some, which I
declined. I said that I would drop her
to her room and as I took her to the elevator, Jack asked if I could help him
as well. So I got them both in the
elevator and then upstairs, leaving Emma in the capable hands of a nurse. I came down and saw that Jim was about to
leave. He told me that Larry was in the hospital...c'est la vie.
He and I walked out together as he talked
about his new life, learning how to cook again etc. I guess it’s never too late for anything is
it…almost never.
*All the client's names have been changed in order to respect their privacy
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