Friday, November 27, 2009
Nursing
We've been visiting my grandmother in the nursing home, which is kind of a new experience for me. I was so worried that she would be in really bad shape that it was a big relief to see that it was really still just her, sitting in a big chair with her feet up and complaining about being bored. She actually looks really good for someone who is 98 and has just been through a case of gall stones (stones are quickly becoming my nemesis) and a rather nasty bout with pinkeye. And she's cranky, which is how we know she's getting better. Little Miss Sunshine she has never been.
Getting in and out is still a bit terrifying, what with the disinfecting that is required at the front door and the long gauntlet of wheelchairs one must pass through to get to my grandmother's room. But everyone who works there is exceedingly nice, although my grandmother tells me in a conspiratorial shout whisper that "that's because you're here right now," and they do take good care of her. They have movie nights and activities, and she even has a room to herself right now, if only because her last roommate died. So the comparison to your college dorm room is perhaps not a complete one.
The big issue, I think, is the food. They serve a lot of mashed potatoes, and she's sick of them. They also serve weird foods like braunschwager, although that seems to bother her less. Today we snuck her in some Hardee's, which clearly was her choice and not mine. When you're hankering for a Hot Ham 'N Cheese, you know you're in trouble.
We are all planning on this being a temporary thing for her just until she recovers fully from her gall stone procedure, but it's good at least to know that it's not the very worst place on earth. That's still Glenn Beck's bathroom by a long shot.
We've been visiting my grandmother in the nursing home, which is kind of a new experience for me. I was so worried that she would be in really bad shape that it was a big relief to see that it was really still just her, sitting in a big chair with her feet up and complaining about being bored. She actually looks really good for someone who is 98 and has just been through a case of gall stones (stones are quickly becoming my nemesis) and a rather nasty bout with pinkeye. And she's cranky, which is how we know she's getting better. Little Miss Sunshine she has never been.
Getting in and out is still a bit terrifying, what with the disinfecting that is required at the front door and the long gauntlet of wheelchairs one must pass through to get to my grandmother's room. But everyone who works there is exceedingly nice, although my grandmother tells me in a conspiratorial shout whisper that "that's because you're here right now," and they do take good care of her. They have movie nights and activities, and she even has a room to herself right now, if only because her last roommate died. So the comparison to your college dorm room is perhaps not a complete one.
The big issue, I think, is the food. They serve a lot of mashed potatoes, and she's sick of them. They also serve weird foods like braunschwager, although that seems to bother her less. Today we snuck her in some Hardee's, which clearly was her choice and not mine. When you're hankering for a Hot Ham 'N Cheese, you know you're in trouble.
We are all planning on this being a temporary thing for her just until she recovers fully from her gall stone procedure, but it's good at least to know that it's not the very worst place on earth. That's still Glenn Beck's bathroom by a long shot.
