Summer and I spent the whole day together!
I packed up the car, filling the entire trunk with the various bags and baskets this morning, and Summer drove us over to Fort Worth and the Trail Lake Nursing Home.
She is so photogenic!
I don't think she ever takes a bad picture.
Lillian's room is just inside the door and as we came in I could hear her crying.
Mark - the social worker, and Tara - her granddaughter, were both kneeling down in front of Lillian trying to comfort her. Tara had just arrived from her home in Weatherford. She was there to tell Lillian that Ann - Lillian's oldest daughter, was dying and she would take her to see her one last time.
We knew Ann was seriously ill and was in a hospital in Weatherford but Lillian thought she was improving. Ann was on a liver transplant list but had taken a turn for the worse.
I felt so sorry for Lillian. She lost her only son a few years ago, then she lost her husband in January 2017. They had been in the home together so after his death, she was given a roommate with whom she bonded and they were good friends. This lady died just 6 months before Mother arrived at the nursing home. Lillian was good to Mother even when Mother was not good to Lillian. Still, Mother's death upset her and then she had a difficult new roommate and that resulted in being moved not only to another room but to another hall where she didn't know anyone. The beauty of that move, though, was getting to have Margaret for a roommate. So, you see that Lillian has had many losses in recent years.
Lillian and Tara left and we stayed the afternoon with Margaret.
Lunch for four was now lunch for three.
I set the table in the community living room just around the corner from their room.
We had such a good time as we ate and talked. Lunch lasted well over an hour.
I had baked the Lemon Crack Cake in cupcake pans and that worked out so well.
That's the red container there on the table that I had prepared for the nurse's station.
I asked Margaret if they had asked to have a plate of food heated up and she said that Lillian had asked one evening but the aid had refused saying she would have to check to see if it was okay and never came back. Hmmmmm.......it did not set well with me to be baking and gifting goodies to the staff when they were not taking care of the residents. I thought about how to handle this and decided to go talk to them about it. There was a LVN at the desk so I told her the situation. I said that Lillian couldn't keep the microwave we bought her because of her pacemaker and that we had gifted the microwave to that station since theirs had gone out. I also said that Mark - the social worker - had assured us that the aids would heat up stuff when Lillian and Margaret asked. The LVN agreed and said that was certainly right. Then I told her about the aid refusing and she agreed that was wrong and that she would make sure they all knew it was okay to heat things in the microwave for any of the residents. I thanked her and told her I had brought cake and trotted back to the table to get it!
She ate one right then and there and proclaimed it delicious! I watched the cupcakes disappear over the course of the afternoon one by one as the different staff workers would come to the station.
I was happy I had brought them to 'sweeten' the deal.
All in all - lunch was a huge success!
There were a few other residents in there while we were eating but none of them would have been able to join us even if I had brought more food. Lillian and Margaret are the most independent people I have seen in this section. It's called Hall 1. Seems more practical to put the healthiest people in one hall so they could be friends and interact together. But perhaps they need to spread the less needy ones out so the 'work' is evenly divided among the staff. I'm certain there's much more to running a home than what I can see from my limited perspective.
Summer wheeled Margaret back to the room and I cleaned up the table.
I had brought a few movies and asked Margaret to select our entertainment for the afternoon.
Nita and Mike had bought a brand new TV for them on Sunday and got the VCR set up and fresh batteries in the remote!
Summer is not a big fan of musicals but she is a really good sport!!
While the movie played, I would watch awhile and clean awhile.
Lillian stores her case of soft drinks, water and a couple of baskets of odds and ends under the bed so I thought a bed skirt would be nice to keep the staff from seeing what she had down there. By the way, they had not been asking her for drinks this week like they did before. Or I guess they could have and this time Lillian said no! Anyway! Getting a bed skirt on with that rail is no easy task! Finally Summer held the mattress up. It's feather light. Glad she was with me or I'd still be tugging that thing this way and that. Then I just slit the skirt where the bar things were so the skirt fits nicely now.
And she has a little more privacy for her things.
Nita bought some hooks for their hand towels last Sunday and hung them up.
I laid out her new pajamas on the bed when I was finished.
I love a comfy cozy bed and wanted Lillian to have one, too.
This is Margaret's!
Her granddaughter bought the bedding for her and I think it looks so cheery!
A painting of mine now hangs on the wall covering up an inspection door.
I need something smaller for the one below it!
It felt good at the end of the afternoon to look around at the warm cozy room with the fragrant smell of 'clean' hanging in the air.
I hope coming home felt good to Lillian tonight.
I packed all my stuff up and it was time to head home.
But I couldn't leave without going back to Hall #5 to see Roberta.
She was in bed and looked like she was asleep but she wasn't.
I went in and we visited for a few minutes.
She has asked for hospice and had spent the afternoon 'doing businesss' as she calls it.
Hospice will increase her quality of care.
I had prayer with her and told her I love her.
God has knit our hearts together and I am grateful to know such a beautiful lady.
God is taking care of her - even with the hospice care.
Come to find out, the hospice lady got to talking to her and Roberta and her husband had been good friends with this lady's parents. They were all in the same Sunday School class at Broadway Baptist Church. The others passes away a long time ago. At 100 years old, all of Roberta's friends and siblings have already gone on to heaven. Last week she asked me to pray for her to have peace.
I don't think she's afraid of dying. In talking to her tonight, I gather she wants peace from the staff and residents there at the home. The lady across the hall has made a pest of herself spending hours in Roberta's room. Once I had to ask her to leave so Roberta could take a nap and she was really ruffled by that and demanded to know why she couldn't stay while Roberta slept!
I admit to tearing up when I said goodbye tonight.
Summer drove us home and navigated us around some nasty traffic due to wrecks!
I picked Louis Dean up and we went up to the Center to walk.
When we got home I took a hot shower.
Any time I visit a nursing home or the hospital, I come in and change clothes and take a shower.
I remember Amber doing this when she would have to go to the doctor back when her preemie quadruplets were home from the hospital. Deanie does the same thing.
It's probably a good idea with all the germs around everywhere......especially in a nursing home.
While I showered.....
Louis Dean fixed supper!
It was delicious!
AND he cleaned up the kitchen!!
Now that's a Win! WIN!!!
Goodnight, everybody!
Sleep well!
