Bill's Birthday and "Special Angels"

Today is Bill's birthday, so my goal was to pick him up, take him for a ride, and then take him to Texas Roadhouse for lunch as that is his favorite restaurant. 

Knowing that Lasik is not our friend and that the message to the nurse to hold his Lasik a few hours has not always been easy to get to the right person, I contacted the VA three times. Yesterday, I called the Director of Nurse, April. She did not answer, but I left a message. Last night I called POD B, the memory care unit, and left a message; and this morning, I call the new day nurse on duty on POD B and talked to her on the phone. (This is the same nurse who did not give the message last time, so I told her what I wanted, asked her if she understood the message, and then told her I would be really upset if I got there and my husband had been given Lasik.)

Sure enough, I get there and the medication nurse had not gotten the message! Needless to say, I came unglued. The nurse at the desk whom I had talked to on the phone, just shrugged like it wasn't her problem. One of the nearby aids said, "Just take him out for a short while." At that, I blew up, bringing out nurses from all corners of the facility.

The medication nurse, Valerie, who is a gem, and Verna, who calls herself my "Guardian Angel," came over and asked me to come to Verna's office. Both Verna and Valerie gave me their direct phone numbers so I can call them anytime I need anything. I was happy with that, but this was Bill's birthday. How was I going to deal with Bill on his birthday?

They came up with an answer! Valerie came with me! She took care of Bill the whole time - getting him in and out of the car and restaurant, taking him to the bathroom, and making sure we had a positive experience. It was so much faster with a helper - no waiting to get in and out of the locked unit, a helper to get equipment in and out of the facility and car, and I could take care of the restaurant issues while she took care of Bill. 

So it turned out to be a good day after all, and now I have a direct number to my guardian angels! Hopefully, this will solve the problem for future visits. 

Bill had a great birthday lunch of filet mignon, applesauce, and sweet potato. The manager of the Texas Roadhouse even brought him a free brownie and ice cream for his birthday! The only downside was he had such a good time, he couldn't understand why he couldn't go home with me when I had to leave. That made me sad. And, yes, there were more tears. But I am so grateful for a caring staff who made Bill's day a good one. And, I was told there will be consequences for the "shrugging nurse." Not everyone is cut out to work in a Memory Care unit. It takes special angels to do that work, like Valerie and Verna. If you know any special angels who work in Memory Care, give them a big hug. They deserve it.