Tales from the Nursing Home

My mother is always telling me that I need to write a book.  I always tell her that there are too many books on the clearance rack as it is.  However I decided today that maybe I should write a book about stories and folks in the nursing home.  

I took Dad lunch today.  He suggested that we take it to a dining room.  With mom and I having limited chance to visit this week, we have not been sure of how much dad is getting out and around.  I was pleased to see him maneuvering himself in and out of his wheelchair and taking himself down the hall. Truthfully it is more than we thought he was doing.  For the most part he seemed pretty aware of life as it is.  I do think there is a difference in seeing him during the day as I did today and in the evening.  I think the evenings cause for a little more confusion.

I took dad's lunch into the dining room and heard this resident shouting at his dining neighbor. He said "what is this?"  "What are we eating?"  His neighbor didn't answer.  Again he said "what is this?  My daughter will call and ask what I had for lunch.  I don't know what to tell her." I was struck with compassion for the daughter who needed to make conversation with her dad.  I felt for this old man who needed to know what he was eating so he could have a conversation with his daughter. So I went over and told him it was Chicken and Rice with green peas.  After repeating it about 7 times he finally heard me.  So as long as he didn't forget, he could tell his daughter what he had for lunch.  I don't know why I found the whole thing so amusing but I did.  

Dad and I were finishing up lunch when a client in a wheel chair knocked his chair alarm off. The chair alarm is intended to alert staff to those at risk clients who are getting up out of their chair.  The man was still seated but because the alarm fell off it started beeping.  The man is wheeling himself away and that alarm is lying on the floor just beeping.  Several of us spectators were trying to figure out what to do. The staff in the vicinity seems oblivious to the beeping. (Yeah that was not real reassuring.) And my dad is sitting there going "some one's getting away! and just a laughing!

Yep maybe somebody needs to write a book about the funny side of nursing homes.  Oh yeah there probably is one on a clearance rack somewhere.