Assisted living care center

Spent a little while this afternoon with Carrina in a wing of a boarding-house style living facility for seniors. We met a few of the assisted-living folks and then also took a tour through the rest of the area. It was so quiet in the Alzheimer's/dementia wing. We were concentrating on the assisted living care ombudsmen that provide patients with the information necessary to protect themselves against abuse and financial exploitation. This man Chuck was our main focus as far as talking with patients went. He was so sweet. He doesn't have any family to come visit him. He said his son "dumped" him there and then died not too long after that. He feels stuck there. It was so sad. I could have just started bawling right then and there when I started thinking about all of the people living in places like this around the country that must feel so lonely and abandoned. It's terrible. I don't know if I would ever want to get stuck in one of these places. I mean.. I understand that it is important for them to get the care that they are provided and that they do for the most part appreciate it... but I would feel like my independence was ripped away from me. It's sad to see how modern medicine and technology has advanced the lives of people whose bodies have already started to shut down on them. It's just strange to see how we are working so hard to keep people alive that have no idea what is going on around them and they don't even have anyone to come visit them. Chuck was 90 but he was sharp as a whip. He was hilarious! It was sad to see this guy who had so much personality and so much spunk and charm and such a great sense of humor with no one to share his time with. It was so sweet to see Trudy (one of the volunteers) visiting with him like they were old friends.

Then went out to Onalaska this evening to hang out with a family that cooked us elephant ears. I had never heard of those. Tasted like fry bread though. It was so much fun hanging out with the family. They had the MOST beautiful garden I have ever seen. This lady had hundreds of different kinds of flowers. Julia and I sat outside around a fire pit with a bunch of aunts and uncles and cousins and grandkids. It was a lot of fun. I'll post pictures after the weekend.