Location: Lakeview Nursing and Rehabilitation Center
Date: Monday, November 16, 2015; 6:15-7:45 pm
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| The fluffy Mickey |
I had cancelled the last couple of times that I had
signed-up due to work, but was determined to show up this evening. I walked in and saw that Charta was there
along with her owner Elaine, as well as an excitable fluffy ‘Maltese’ named Mickey. I went inside the Bingo room and saw that Jim
was there along with some other regulars, though there was no sign of Emma, Jack
and Larry. Jim mentioned that both Jack
and Larry were not doing too well, especially Larry. He said that our old friend Gwyn had come last
week to celebrate Lee's birthday. It
seems like yesterday that we were doing the same and it had been one year. I mentioned to Jim that I missed that project. It was my first one with Chicago Cares and
would always have a special place in my heart.
Emma came in and she seemed half asleep, though she said
that she was fine when I asked her. I
went back to the other room and it was getting full. Besides our Volunteer leader Robyn with Bruce
and June, there were other 2 other ‘Maltese’s’,
all males and with Mickey, the 3 dogs looked like brothers! I took charge of June and we went over to get
treats from Joe. Bruce found his way there as
well - talk about his smell - and both of them had their fill of the treats. I went outside to wait with Bruce and June
and noticed that they had posted all residents birthdays for the month of November.
I noticed that Emma's was tomorrow and I pointed it out to others, wondering
how old she was.
As usual, I was going to be with June, Robyn and Bruce. We started on the 1st floor and
stopped over to see a lady who looked at us skeptically. But Robyn was doing a great job of engaging
her and we learned that it was just her second day here and so had no clue on
what was happening. I saw a small glass
ornament which had been colored and we learned that it was from her 3 year old
daughter. She opened up a bit with us
and we chatted for some time before moving on.
That was it for this floor and we moved on upstairs and met with Loritta. I asked how she was doing and she pointed to
her bed and shrugged. I told her that I
was going to Atlanta, the land of her son.
She asked me why and I responded that unlike him, it wasn’t for a woman!
Robyn and I noticed a kitten valentine
card on top of her bed and since it had no name, I said that Loritta had a
secret admirer. “Then why isn’t he in the bed with me”, she asked. I couldn’t stop laughing and was doing so as
we left.
We stopped to see Polly and rather than her usual exuberant
self, she seemed tired and was incoherent.
Her roommate Dena looked aged and tired as well. Polly seems to have aged quite a bit over the
last few weeks and it was noticeable in the way she spoke, though she was still
as sharp as ever. She asked when I would
come back and I said not for a couple of weeks.
She said she would send the dogs to find me and I said fair enough. We stopped at another place on the 2nd floor and met with a new lady. She asked my name and
made sure that she pronounced it right…and made sure we pronounced hers right
as well. She loves dogs and will be a permanent
fixture on our visits. Next, we went to
see if David was still here and finally after saying that he would for all
these years, he really has left – which was bittersweet for us.
We went to the 3rd floor to see Jerry and Charta was
already there, planted on his bed. We
waited for her to leave before putting June and Bruce on his bed, where they got
some treats and then stared at the rest of them while we chatted. Poor things were getting tired and also drinking a lot of
water. But we couldn’t leave without
seeing Hannah. We asked about her book
and she showed us a rejection letter from one of the publishers. But she also promised to keep fighting. She said she was a ‘Gemini’ and so always tried to convince others that she was
right. I said that I was a ‘Gemini’ too, and so empathized with
her. When Robyn said that Hannah’s hair
looked nice and better than hers, Hannah said that Robyn looked great no matter
what. When Robyn said no, I said don’t
argue since Hannah was after all a ‘Gemini’
and would win the argument. Hannah said
that her old roommate Linda had gone somewhere and she didn’t know where. We said that it must be for a procedure since
her name was still on her room…at least I hoped so. It was time for the pups to leave and I bid
them farewell. I saw that Emma was still
looking sleepy and before I could wish her for birthday, Fran took her
upstairs. Until next time then. And I better come soon; else Polly would set
the dogs on me!
*All the client's names have been changed in
order to respect their privacy
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