After visiting Jo’s mother in the nursing home, Ruth and I had lunch. Jo’s mother is doing fine and Jo and her sister realize this is “the way it is”. Some days are difficult and some days force a smile. Ruth shared two stories she was told when talking with a nursing home resident she just met. This lady was about 85 years old - nice, lovely and very talkative. She said she’d lived there for several years and had several roommates. Apparently she didn’t have many visitors and was excited that Ruth would listen to her. Here’s one of the stories this lady shared with Ruth. She has a pen pal in another nursing home. Since they are unable to visit each other, they write. Here’s the letter she just received from her pen pal:
“God blessed me last week with a beautiful radio that I won at the senior citizens’ luncheon. I have never had my own radio. As you know I am 84 years old and live in an assisted home for the aged. All of my family has passed away. I am all alone and it’s nice to know that someone is thinking of me. God blessed me with their kindness to this old forgotten lady. My roommate is 95 and has always had her own radio. Before I received my new radio she would never let me listen to hers – even when she was napping. The other day her radio fell off the table and broke into hundreds of pieces. It was awful and she was in tears. She asked if she could listen to my new radio. I said ‘NO!’ I thought, ‘Life is Good’. Then she started talking about her previous roommate who was so nice and older. They had a celebration for her 100th birthday. The birthday girl was very sleepy when the party began and one of the nursing home staff reminded her that this was HER birthday party. When someone asked her how old she was she said she didn’t remember. When the nursing home staff told her they were celebrating her 100th birthday she replied, “No wonder I’m so tired!”. Ruth’s “new friend” told Ruth that she is amazed by what some people say. A resident had been to a follow up appointment with her cardiologist last week and was telling everyone about her appointment. Her cardiologist gave her a new medication and was talking with her about it. He told her that she needed to put a new patch on every six hours. The woman looked confused. The doctor asked if she had concerns. “Yes - what was she to do when she ran out of places to put those patches?” The cardiologist then rephrased and included “remove the old patch before applying a new one”. She was happy. Wonder who got the most out of their visit? Ruth or her new friend? Call me at 501-868-6650 and say “Caroline, can we talk?”
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AuthorCaroline Beauchamp specializes in personalized life and health insurance solutions. Archives
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