My Life in Retirement

When I arrived in Spain, just 5 short weeks ago, I was alarmed by her physical condition, as she was already showing marked deterioration on an almost daily basis during my short visit.  She was, however, still indomitable, and remained so to her last day.

Millie was loved by virtually all she came in contact with.  In just two years at the Residency, she seemed to have come to know and become endeared to scores of fellow residents, auxiliaries, nurses, Doctors, and maintenance personnel.  This was due, in no small way, to the fact that she was a generous and caring person.  In the time I spent with her during my visit she would often approach severely handicapped residents in her “modulo” to give them words of encouragement, or simply to greet them with a touch and a smile.  This, in spite of the fact that she was, herself, already significantly handicapped by her illness.

Although I was expecting to find Millie as strong and vital as I had on my last visit several years ago, I feel fortunate that I arrived in time to spend part of each of my five days in Spain by her side and sharing loving moments with her.

She will be missed by those who knew her well and, naturally, by her family.

We love you Millie.

O. K. so I´ve been bragging about a visit Im getting real soon. Tito, I can´t wait any more. Are you as tall as aways? are you still growing a beard? Do I still argue with you ?

Right now I´m with Reyes who is helping me develop this blog. Even though she doesn´t know as such as English as myself  she has good ideas and that´s what count, ideas, Spanish, English or Italian.

We are getting more and more ideas that come from the Residence because Reyes is very jovial. But let´s get back to to the original idea. Tito come give me a big hug! 

Reyes is a substitute receptionist who is helpful and ready to perform any duty that requires extra duties.

One of these extra duties, to my benefit, is helping me with the blog. After so long doing this blog, it is strange that I still really do not do the blog as I should.

However, one of the reasons I may be not be doing the blog right is that for the last few weeks I have been suffering from a digestive disorder that has afected my whole constitution. This I hope does not affect my brother´s travel plans. He is coming from San Frincisco to Frankfurt and from Frankfurt to Madrid. That means that I should expect him on Wednesday and let´s hope and pray he arrives safe and sound, and let´s see if I spend these two nights without extra help from the ladies of the night.

The ladies of the day are also a great help. They change my bed and not only do they make breakfast for the module. They aslo help me put on diapers which, unfortunately I need.

Librada, Reyes, I love you and will always do so! 

Yesterday was one of the most frustrating way of entering the Blog. For some reason I just couldn´t do it. But as you can see I finilly did.

But I needed the help of Pepa, our substitute receptionist.  She  kept on trying to get into the blog just as I did.

Well I leave this blog with much regrets and tomorrow is Resurrection Sunday and there won´t be  blog.

Help us God!

Unfortunately, sometimes I have fallen off the bed and last night was one of those times. It wasn´t a bad time and one of the girls who was near helped me get on and straighten the bed.

Sometimes I have to call the bell and they come very fast and help me. To add to these situations is what I have had for the last 2 or 3 months, a digestive decomposition. And now the appointment comes for May. What can happen to me between now and May?

We have a new doctor and he is calm and gentle but what can he do to help me in my digestive disorder before May? And today is Holy Thursday. It will be 4 days before we have a doctor in the house. Is this fair? With a house full of weak ladies, should we lack 4 doctors?

I hope the rest of holy week will be more blessed!

I don´t know if I mentioned false teeth among our residents before but they are very dominant.

Now, I´m going through false teeth in myself and I´m going to Villaviciosa to treat them. A funny thing is that a few days ago I woke up to find my top teeth on the bed. You see the dentist told me to brush my teeth and put it back in my mouth and sleep with them and that´s what I did. Well as you can see the results were that my teeth fell out. Today I´m going in to town to see the dentist and see what we can do.

Many ladies and gents suffer from a bad reaction to false teeth. I´m hoping I get over it because not only is it unconfortable but expensive.

Today I´ll go to the dentist hoping I find them in. If not I´ll have to wait til after Holy Week.

May our teeth last us a long time!

This morning as I came down to get into the library I came across Dolores who comes down almost every morning, at least I see her here almost every morning and we say hello.

I have known Dolores for a long time and on a few times she has accompanied me on a trip to Alcorcon. However, for a while now she has told me that she can´t go with me anywhere because her health won´t permit it.

Nevertheless we greet each other when we meet in the hall or in the dining room. There are other ladies who are friends of hers and they have told me she is not as up to par as she used to be.

I am now writing about different ladies; for instrance Esperanza who is thin and eats very little. I treat her to a coffee in the morning.

I treat different ladies to different things because when my brother comes, who is coming a week from today, I want him to be familiar with my friends, healthy or not.

Esperanza, eat, eat, eat!

Most of us ladies go to mass today, Monday, the begnning of Holy Week, but a lot of us don´t.

Yesterday was Palm Sunday and there was a ritual in the modulos, there was singing  and praying. After the ritual we went back  to the chapel and went through a long amount of evangelus and other prayer.

The rest of this week will be devoted mostly to prayer until next Sunday which will be Holy Sunday. I have never been very prayerful, just Sundays when I join some of my friends and we pray together.

I notice that some of my friends do not pray as much as it seems but I guess that´s because some of us are just not in the mood for praying. There is a friend who has been stricken with cancer and she doesn´t pray as much as you would think.

This is the time for praying and I ask God to help us!

Crescencia is doing much better. She no longer hangs on the reception counter wining to the girls that they are going to throw her out of the Residence. She now sits nearby and says hello to me  and other people.

Now I have another pupil and that is Esperanza. Esperanza has a bit of Parkinson´s and she is very thin. Her problem is she eats very little. Well. I thought if I treated her to coffee and cake at mid-morning it would be good for her. But one of my nursing friends said she would eat less at meal times so that wasn´t a good idea. I suppose that makes sense.

Librada is a cleaning lady and she is kind and generous and I have to thank her for making my bed when I dirty it which is quite often. There are other ladies who have the same chores but they do them with annoyance.

Jose Miguel is no longer with us in the library and it is a shame because  there are ladies who are anxious to learn and practice and he no longer around. I thank God that I have my blog fairly learned and just need him once in a while.

Come back Jose Miguel!

There is one ritual throughout the Residence that you can say is very traditional and that is the distributing and taking of medication.

There is one way of getting medication and that is by prescription from the doctor. these prescriptions are passed on to the pharmacist who brings them here usually the next day.

Then there is the distribution of medication in the dining room upon prescription of the doctor of course; this is done by the nursing auxiliaries and it seems to me it is for the residents who are hardest to take medication.

As you can see, the residents who get their own prescriptions have to take them until they are finished and the ask the doctor for more.

I have my own cocktail of pills morning noon and night and I thank Got it keeps me well the whole day!

There is one thing I can mention and that is that most of us residents take medication, pills, capsules for one reason or another. And we must need them or the doctor wouldn´t presribe them.