Just One More

Just got home from work. Massey comes home tomorrow and I couldn't be happier. She has had a good time but I can tell she is ready to come back and rule the castle once again.

Went to see Frances today. My restaurant called me early this morning asking if I could go by the restaurant in my town and pick up some cheddar cheese and bring it in when I went into work. I told them that I'd be glad to but I didn't come in til 4 PM. The manager said that I was due in at 10:30. I freaked out, thinking they had changed my schedule without me noticing. The manager said, "It's Tuesday." I told him that in fact the day was Thursday. After making him feel stupid, I told him I was heading that way anyway to visit Frances and if he would buy her lunch for me to take to her I would oblige.

Zoomed by our restaurant in Newnan to pick up the cheese and phoned Frances' lunch order in when I got back in my car. When I got to the store I work at, I handed off the cheese and Frances' lunch was ready for me. I went to the nursing home with her lunch in my hand and of course she was thrilled with the salmon, rice and vegetables I had brought.

When I walked in the room it seemed a lot bigger and then I realized that Frances was sitting in a chair by the bed and the wheelchair was gone. She told me that they had taken her wheelchair away and put her on a walker. That is good news though...it means she is improving .

By this point my sister had arrived and I exclaimed "Frances is on a walker now!" Frances said that she made them put a basket on the front of her walker so she could carry the computer up to the lobby to connect to the internet. She made the comment "They took way my car and gave me a wheelbarrow."

So after lunch, Frances pushed her wheelbarrow up to the lobby with me and my sister in tow to "Get on line." We had to restart the computer and it took a few minutes. Frances is always so upbeat...she remarked "I got nothing but time." She checked her email and we helped her clean out her inbox. Then she got on the family web site to read where all of our relatives have been writing to her. When we are in the lobby, we are at a table with Frances' back to everyone else, including the front desk. Frances won't mind me saying this (I am sure she knows it more than anyone) she is extremely hard of hearing. That is the whole reason we wanted her to have a computer here, so she can keep in touch via email, my blog and the family website. Not to mention she can check her bank statement and make sure all bills are being paid online.

While we were sitting in the lobby the girl at the front desk made an announcement over the P.A. "Patients , employees and visitors please ignore the upcoming fire alarm, we are just testing the system."

It was followed by a piercing screeching noise that continued on and on and on. Frances with her back to it all just kept on pecking on the keyboard. The minute it started, patients were scrambling on their walkers to get through the fire doors before they swung shut trapping them in the lobby. Frances kept right on typing. My sister and I were in tears by this point. Finally Frances glanced up from the keyboard, cocked her head to one side and made a squinty face toward the sound. She quickly resumed her typing and finished her post on the family website.

I guess being hard of hearing has it's advantages at times.

What was killing all of our ears was merely a nuisance to her... once it penetrated her hearing aide.

She's a cracker jack. She has a great wit and an even better outlook on her own situation. I turned to look at the ladies behind the front desk and commented that I bet an actual fire drill was a site to see in a nursing home. My sister added that she bet a lot of employees called in sick that day. I can just see the patients pushing other walkers and wheelchairs out of their way, thinking...Now is the time to get the hell out of here, MOVE OUT OF MY WAY!

Frances was still typing when I realized I only had an hour to get back home, iron a shirt for work and barely make it on time. My sister said she would wait and walk Frances back to her room.

I needed that laugh, me and my sister were in tears. Everyone else on alert and Frances happily typing away.

I called my sister tonight when I got home from work and she told me that when she walked Frances back to her room she made the comment that the "alarm" just kept going off. So she heard it after all, but it was just a slight annoyance to her when it sent other patients scrambling for cover.

Going to visit Frances is always interesting, always a pleasure and always a good blog!