Nursing Home

A friend here from the park had a knee replacement a few weeks ago and chose to go to a rehab center for 2 weeks in order to receive intense therapy. Last night 16 of us went there to have dinner with her (she's coming home tomorrow, thank heavens).

The rehab center is part of a nursing home, a beautiful building in lovely surroundings, and nothing like what I'd ever seen back home in Canada. But beautiful surroundings or not, it was still very depressing to see so many silent, wheelchairbound elderly people. I think it sort of scared me a bit because that could be my future.

Charlotte is in her early 80's and bright as a new penny. She's one of the most active ladies in the park so I wasn't surprised to see how well she'd come along since her surgery. She still needs a cane but she greeted us at the front door and walked into the cafeteria with us. She was cheery but can't wait to get home because she's bored. That's our Char!

I've only visited nursing homes a few times in my life and each time I've had that niggling feeling urging me to run the heck out of there. The places have always been clean and well run but still have that aura of death's waiting room.

That's okay if you're terminally ill and ready to meet your maker but it gives me the creeps. I was bombarded with those feelings all through dinner and the only thing that made it tolerable was that I knew Charlotte was leaving that place today and coming home where she belongs. I joked about kidnapping her and taking her home with us but I'm not sure I was joking.

The nursing home we visited yesterday was the loveliest of any I've ever seen but it was also the quietest of any I've seen. It lacked life and I think that's what disturbed me. The diningroom was huge and the patients all seemed to eat at a table by themselves and not together, talking and socializing.

I'm glad Char comes home today. She belongs here, playing the piano and enjoying happy hour!