Respect the crabby old lady

Posted on February 19, 2015 Updated on February 23, 2015

When I’m an old lady and end up in a care facility, I sincerely hope my personality and attitudes don’t relegate me to the category of “that crabby old lady in Room 210.”  Have you visited someone in a nursing home or hospital and had the distinct feeling that the patients were treated like numbers or medical cases?  You know what I mean: “the urinary tract infection in 4A” or “the decubitis in South 6.”  Wow, that’s a horrible thing to consider for myself: the history of all my years on this earth being characterized as a medical condition or an intolerable behavior resulting from that condition.

What about my history of being a pretty darn good mother/wife/business person/neighbor/community volunteer/friend?  Doesn’t that person still exist within the body occupying that bed?

Let’s all take the time to read this poem that depicts such a scene.  Gender-wise, this could be about a crabby old man as well. Read the rest of this entry »