A Night At The Home.........More nursing home drama

08-30-2012 at 08:20 PM 

It was an early evening visit at the home and a cute old black lady who often wore two brads in her hair was following me. She reminded me of Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz minus the youthful features in her face. “Are you going home?”, she asks me over and over again. My answer didn’t matter because she would forget minutes after the last time she asked me. “I am not leaving yet but will eventually go home”, was my response. “Can I go with you?”
“I don’t think they will let you leave with me.”
The conversation continued like a revolving door. She stuck to me like glue. Every time I stood up from my chair she stood up too. Every time I would walk away from my chair she would walk right behind me. My grandmother was getting agitated and started to yell at the old black lady to leave me alone. My concern with was my grandmother who had complained about a pain in her arm. It was in the same place where she had bruised herself a week before and this time I felt a big bump but on the other side of her arm opposite the bruise. I alerted the nurse who gave her some Tylenol and another nurse put ice on her arm. My grandmother was getting all of the attention from the nurses who also assured me they would alert her doctor right away.

In the meantime, the old black lady walked over to the exit door as if she was waiting for someone. The old man with the beard was sitting behind the desk and refused to leave the area when asked to by the nurse. Another old lady who was fairly new to the home was being escorted around by an aid. The old lady had a habit of whimpering as if she was constantly in distress, lost, and scared of something. While sitting at the dining table next to my grandmother the cabbage patch lady was having a fit with an aid that was trying to feed another lady sitting next to her. The aid was in between the two ladies. Cabbage patch lady would push her food away from her and practically into the lap of the aid. She was making faces at her and acting like a…….crazy person.

My grandmother was being taken care of that evening so I was happy about that but leaving her in the company of people who turn into crazy when the sun goes down. I don’t know how the nurses deal with this type of environment every night and keep their sanity. I am sure they get a laugh every now and then but at the end of the day these crazy people were once very normal and sane and that is the way they should be remembered. My grandmother is still, in my opinion, one of the sanest people that live in the wing. In her old age she isn’t getting crazy but just tired and it shows. I love you Bubie! I will see you this weekend.