People and life at the rehab/nursing facility:

People and life at the rehab/nursing facility: For a while I had the room to myself and then they assigned me a roommate who announced that he was a bi-polar binge alcoholic. He was here because he went on a binge, fell and cut his head on a wine glass and nearly bled to death. He was a nonstop talker who seemed to be an expert on everything from logging to religion. It was rather humorous when he attempted to teach the mentally challenged at the facility to play a special solitaire game. Many of the residents have had strokes or head injuries and have trouble playing Bingo. There is a woman who was an only child who spent twenty years in the Navy. She retired to the long term section of the rehab center and talks about how those years in the Navy were the best years but cannot remember much about them. She likes to color and play Bingo. There is a young man about forty who was unloading a car top boat which fell on him and broke his leg severely. They tried to repair it but infection set in and they had to amputate his leg, so he is here to get prosthesis and learn to walk with it. We also have many in wheelchairs. Fortunately for me, that first roommate was only here a week and then was released. My current roommate is much more compatible and “with it”. He is a 75-year old who fell down the back steps when his girlfriend’s dog tripped him up and sent him flying down the steps, breaking his hip. The first couple of days he was on pain pills and a little disoriented     The break has stabilized now and we get along fine. He’s a bit of a character and we laugh a lot. Also have a couple of neighbors we enjoy. The facility tries to provide a lot of activities. Nancy and I went on one such outing and it was amazing to see how long it took to load the wheelchairs and walkers for participants on the van for the trip to a nearby tulip garden. We spent more time loading and unloading than at the garden so it is unlikely we will try another trip out of the rehab that way. Those that took the trip talked about the outing for days. Since I can check out for a few hours at a time, we prefer to go on our own adventures. I started out using a walker and have graduated to a cane. We also have the use of an electric scooter from my sister-in-law so we are able to get out on a beautiful paved trail close to the facility. It is a trail along the Burnt  Bridge Creek. We take turns with the scooter so I can walk to build up my strength. It is great to get out in nature, along the nice creek and see the birds, flowers, etc. Some of the locals also have horses and chickens. When Brett brought Celia for a walk with us she enjoyed feeding a couple of the horses apple and carrots. For some of the residents the group outings are the only way out of the facility. One big highlight is a trip to Wal-Mart. You would not believe how much they look forward to that trip! Anyway, a sense of humor helps while I live here. Kind of like dorm life with interesting people but I need to be back to the rehab center by midnight or it affects insurance coverage.