Location: Lakeview Nursing and Rehabilitation Center
Date: Monday, May 18, 2015; 6:00-8:30 pm
 |
| Welcome from Bodie |
I arrived to see that my favorite ‘Westie’, Bodie was here and very soon he was all over me. His excitement knew no bounds and I was happy
to pet him away to glory. I went over to
the main room and saw Jim and Kenny, who waved to me. I asked Jim if he was
still enjoying his independence, and he said absolutely. I shook hands with Kenny
and said hello to Josie and Holly, both of whom were playing “word search” puzzle. I went upstairs to see Pearl, but her door was
closed. I came down to see that the dogs
had arrived, including several tiny little things and a lovely ‘Pitbull’ mix called Haley. Robyn, who was our Volunteer leader this
evening, came over with Bruce and June, and I held June's leash while Robyn
went to put a permit on her car. While
they both were well behaved, there was definitely a lot of curiosity with so
many dogs around and Bruce was twitching.
Dogs went inside to visit with the Bingo players, while I chatted with
other volunteers.
We were paired and I was going to be with Haley and her owner
Kevin. We started on the 2nd
floor and our first stop was David and his massage, which Haley received with
glee. We then stopped at some of the
regulars, though Polly was sleeping. We
went to see the lady whom I had met last time and the tiny little pup on her
bed was so protective of her territory, that she started growling when we came
inside. Haley could have blown her away
with a puff, but Haley is a kind hearted girl with soulful eyes and she was
probably more amused than anything else.
Once again, the lady talked about her dogs including one called "Cool". She said that he just looked at you nonchalantly
before walking away; hence the name.
 |
| Haley: Look at her kind eyes! |
We went to 3rd floor, where we stopped to Jerry
and Haley got on the bed for treats. She
was chewing every bite thoroughly, which would have made a doctor proud. We then went over to a room and the tiny
protective dog was there as well. I had
never met the resident before and this gentleman was a colorful character if
there ever was one. He was a gossip with
no filter, mentioning how he doesn’t like nurses touching him…well where he
shouldn’t be touched and about how someone in Lakeview has had a sex change
operation! This was all guns blazing and
I said that I should definitely stop by each time for a gossip update. We then stopped by a gentleman who was very
subdued compared to the last one. He
talked about a ‘German Shepherd’,
whom he had till he was a “teeny weeny
boy”, to when he was 19. The dog’s
name was Frank, and according to this gentleman, Frank was very clever. He kept repeating that again and again, as well
as how he had the dog till he was 19.
Then he said that he had not had a dog since last year, making me wonder
if his current memory was stuck at when he was 19. As sad as that sounds, is it really such a
bad thing? To always think that you are
at the age where the world was there to conquer and your promising life was
ahead of you.
We stopped by to see Hannah and she said that now they were
looking to get her book published privately, but in reality she was losing
hope. She said that she was getting more
exercise nowadays because she wanted to get out of here, adopt two street cats,
sit in a rocking chair and eat Oatmeal.
I said that it was a great plan and I could understand everything, but
what’s up with Oatmeal! She wished me
luck with my endeavor and I was flabbergasted that she remembered my “51 in 51” quest, something that I had
just mentioned a few visits ago.
Amazing. We went to the community
room on the 3rd floor and saw a woman who had her bed wheeled in
here and was holding court! I said that
she had the best view, since she was next to a window, had magazines, music and
TV. It was perfect! She seemed like a charming woman and someone
who would enjoy a conversation. She asked
Kevin to get Haley’s picture for her next time and Kevin said that he would.
We came down to the 1st floor and stopped by to
see the Polish lady that I had met a couple of visits ago. She once again reminisced about her life in
Poland with her ‘German Shepherd’ and
told us how she had lived in Poland during ‘WWII’
and had moved to the US in the 90s. She
said that she had come on a 90 day visa and was still here. She seemed to have a great outgoing
personality and I told her that she should come for Bingo and she said that she
was busy with her mail, which mostly comprised of people asking for money. She said that she used to donate 10% of her
salary to veterans and other causes, and now people still thought that she had
money. I said that she was truly noble
and added that with a spirit like hers she would do well, not just in here, but
outside as well.
Time was up and Kevin and Haley left, just as Bingo was
concluding. I dropped off Jack to his
room and then went to meet with Pearl.
She had some visitors and said that they were some distant relatives. After they had left, she talked about how one
of them was a victim of abuse, just as she had been. Pearl truly is a guiding light and help for
many. We talked for a long time about
her degenerative eye disease, and I told her that she was an optimist and a
problem solver. Plus she really wanted
to help the people in here, which not many are willing to do. I said that she
had to find a solution and it starts with her eye doctor appointment
tomorrow. We talked about her study in
Western Punjab in the 70s, and how she had studied “genealogy” back then. She
said that she would love to continue that study today, and I said that she
should find someone who could help. She
said that she truly appreciated my support on everything, not matter how
much or how little. After admiring her jewelry I left,
but not before promising her that I would be back soon.
*All the client's names have been changed in
order to respect their privacy
No comments:
Post a Comment