Saying Thanks
Laura and I went back to Sonoma this afternoon. I wanted to say, "Thank you" to the workers that have helped take care of my mom for the past several months. I had dropped off flowers for the staff the day mom died, but could only get out, "These flowers are for all of you." before I rushed out of the building too choked up to talk.
So, I went back today and saw the nurse that helped me make mom more comfortable the afternoon before she passed. I hugged her and thanked her for taking care of mom. She tracked down Juan, the orderly. Juan is a tireless and cheerful guy. His daughter was born on mom's birthday. Mom couldn't pronounce Juan's daughter's name, so she called her "Juanita". It was an honor to shake Juan's hand. I started getting a bit misty...can't seem to help it. Anyway, I asked them both to pass on my thanks to everyone else who worked with mom and I made a bee-line for the door. I took a short walk in the park next door to compose myself and then jumped in the car to go to Barb's house. She had more pictures; mom's cats & dogs, my mother's mother Louise (who I knew as Nana) and a beautiful picture of my mother that if memory serves was taken when she was 18; my favorite picture of mom!
One more word about the folks who work at the Sonoma rest home: They have not always been perfect in their care. Sometimes specific instructions for my mother got mixed up. Whenever they made an error, they did their best to quickly correct it. The entire staff have one hell of a difficult job. Mom was one of the luckier ones with most of her faculties intact. The staff there have to take care of some very delicate old folks. They clean them up when they go to the bathroom. They comfort them when they are in pain. They feed them; most of them with special diet needs, like mom. I have learned that growing very old is a very messy business and there are very few people that can handle the stress and physical aspects of that job. Having had just a taste of it with mom, it was not the most pleasant thing I've ever done. I'm just glad mom was taken care of by quality people who cared about the job they did and the people they cared for. I really respect those folks!
So, I went back today and saw the nurse that helped me make mom more comfortable the afternoon before she passed. I hugged her and thanked her for taking care of mom. She tracked down Juan, the orderly. Juan is a tireless and cheerful guy. His daughter was born on mom's birthday. Mom couldn't pronounce Juan's daughter's name, so she called her "Juanita". It was an honor to shake Juan's hand. I started getting a bit misty...can't seem to help it. Anyway, I asked them both to pass on my thanks to everyone else who worked with mom and I made a bee-line for the door. I took a short walk in the park next door to compose myself and then jumped in the car to go to Barb's house. She had more pictures; mom's cats & dogs, my mother's mother Louise (who I knew as Nana) and a beautiful picture of my mother that if memory serves was taken when she was 18; my favorite picture of mom!
One more word about the folks who work at the Sonoma rest home: They have not always been perfect in their care. Sometimes specific instructions for my mother got mixed up. Whenever they made an error, they did their best to quickly correct it. The entire staff have one hell of a difficult job. Mom was one of the luckier ones with most of her faculties intact. The staff there have to take care of some very delicate old folks. They clean them up when they go to the bathroom. They comfort them when they are in pain. They feed them; most of them with special diet needs, like mom. I have learned that growing very old is a very messy business and there are very few people that can handle the stress and physical aspects of that job. Having had just a taste of it with mom, it was not the most pleasant thing I've ever done. I'm just glad mom was taken care of by quality people who cared about the job they did and the people they cared for. I really respect those folks!
posted by McQ at 8:51 PM
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