I have a small metal box full letters and photographs from when I was in middle school and high school, I open it today after 15 years.
I was looking at some old photos of the time when I worked in the activities department in Wingate ( I was 16). The photos were happy with faint memories of fun activities, I didn’t think to much of it until I noticed that my handwriting was on the back of some of those photos. It feels sad that the 33 year old me forgot something very important. The 16 year old me wrote a little memoir saying something special about her dears friends.
“Jack Wang. My first patient to die. According to nurses I was the only one who could make him move / go to activities,etc”. He was very stubborn I never knew if he spoke English, but he would follow me with a big smile and seat where I told him to, later after a few minutes he would leave. the day of his death I went to his room and there were no sheets on his mattress, his name was not on the door. There was no mourning, it was the first time that I lost a friend.
“Claire, she never married. She said that marriage was a waste of time, she needed her freedom. She lived.” she was a sassy and small lady. Once when she began to lose her memory she saw me in the hallway and grabbed me, I was been held prisoner by an old lady in a wheelchair with a very hard grip. She threatened to kill me if I didn’t get her out of there. It became a serious situation more than two nurses were involved, other patients were afraid and I was in pain. She was a fabulous woman with a great spirit.
“Ruth DeWolf was a wonderful lady. She wore shoes that looked to big for her. She was always walking up and down. Many times she told me she loved me. Ruth fought alot before dying, she spent many weeks in bed but she didn’t let go until there was no more strength”. Ruth moved so much and she loved to give you kisses in the cheek. She had a best friend Eva. They were always together. When She got sick she was in a bed and you could seat there and hold her hand for hours. Her daughter Beverly would come all the time, she was the most dedicated and loving person, she was so delicate and sweet. After Ruth died I only saw her a couple of time, me and the other patients really missed her.
“Eva Changed alot after Ruth’s death “her little girl is dead”. That’s how Eva called Ruth “the little girl”. Eva had a very high pitched voice, she would rumble about any subject, it was an inner conversation but at loud, so there was no way to refute it. She loved candies so much.
Eva used to fallow Ruth everywhere, you would come out of the elevator and see both of them seating there. When her little girl passed away it was like there was no longer a north for her.
“Flora was from Europe, she was very concern with me getting fat and not using condoms. She always called me lady or Miss, her favorite food was popcorn”. She was very peculiar. Flora used to have a bird feeder outside her window every saturday I had to change the seeds for her. She always asked me about my boyfriends and how important was for me to protect myself, the first time she asked me about contraceptives I was a little overwhelmed because I was 16 and I was still a virgin, but after having this conversation practically every week I was ok. She didn’t enjoy going to some activities but if I made popcorn I would go to her room and give her some, she was so grateful and nice for some silly thing like a cup of full of popcorn.
“Francis was my card partner, we played cards together all the time. She didn’t talk alot but every time I was near her she smiled. She was always offering me cookies and other goodies”
Francis taught me to play whist, she was very patient, she was also concerned about me not eating, she would asked me about school and listen so carefully. I didn’t notice at first but she stared to fade very fast. I regret how insensitive I was, it used to bother me that when I painted her nails they were always dirty or food under them, I never said anything but it used to annoy me, but it wasn’t her fault she couldn’t use the fork or the spoon.
This was a present from some of the patience for me for christmas. Its hard to remember some of the names.
Anita the lady in purple was very peculiar. She would never leave her room without her pearls. She would cry all the time about her hair, the color of her shoes, the way people talked to her. She hated some of the nurses she would scream “I hate that bitch!!” “don’t touch me!” without any problem. I don’t know if she liked to complain or she was in actual constant pain.