by Noah Rea
“That sounds great. I’m emotionally exhausted so please do what you can without me for right now and I will try to pull myself together and be of some help later.”
I sat on the back porch and watched the trees blow in the gentle breeze and small birds chasing each other in flight. People deal with depression in different ways. Some people load up on anti-depressants. Some people will drink their pain away. Wasn’t it the Eagles who wrote a song “Tequila Sunrise” where they said “I’m feelin’ better when I’m feelin’ no pain” or something like that. Anyway I didn’t want to medicate or drink my way out. I didn’t want to be a stress eater. I just wanted pray and give it to God and then to sleep it off.
Chapter 17
A Home for Franz
My next nap turned out to be a long one. I slept for almost three hours in the middle of the day. That may not have been a new record for me but it sure was unusual. When I woke up I was a little groggy like I had a hangover but I was better. Once I got some coffee and walked around a little, I was ready to slowly start doing something.
“I call about a dozen places,” Deb said. “I got quotes all over the place from $800 a month to $1700 a month for the smallest place anyone had. A few of them are on the other side of Phoenix and I vote for not getting something that far away. I don’t want to dread driving to see Franz.”
“Sounds like my girl is on the ball. I agree. So which one are you the most interested in?”
“Well there are two that I think are the best compromise. They are more or less on this side of town and they are among the lowest prices. What if I drive and we go see them. Once we have been there, we probably will be able to decide at that point.”
“I like it.” I said. “But that would take us until supper time. Are you trying to sneak yourself a free dinner into this deal?”
“Am I that easy to see through?” Deb asked. “You know I like to be taken out to eat by my man. Any excuse I can come up with is good enough for me.”
“Me too. Let’s go.”
She grabbed her notes and headed to the car. I was moving slow but I got there pretty quick. She drove us to the first one. It looked like it had been an old apartment complex. There were probably eight to ten buildings that were two stories high and the units were flats. When I first looked at them they appeared to be townhouses but on closer inspection it became obvious they were flats on each floor. The upstairs and downstairs on a pair of units had the same elevation i.e. the same front and it made them look like they went together.
Deb found the office and we went in. The lady at the desk was Rita. She explained their more economical programs. They were totally secure in a fenced area with a security guard for those driving or walking or they could walk into the complex by going through the office. That would be a good security feature so someone outside couldn’t get into rip Franz off or he couldn’t wander off should his mind begin to fail. The down stairs units were for the less mobile tenants. They had people upstairs who were quite mobile but had health issues like a bad heart or whatever but needed a nurse close by. Some had dementia and had to be watched but could get around just fine. We felt Franz could probably do fine upstairs but wanted to make life easy for him and went to look at a ground floor unit.
It was a one bedroom with open floor plan in the main living area. It had a small kitchen in a corner with a bar between it and the dining area where there was a small table and two chairs. Then the living area was beyond that with a sofa, love seat and recliner with an entertainment center. The TV was older but with the cable box and DVD player it looked adequate.
It had a complex phone so if he picked it up and didn’t dial “9” someone up front would answer. If he didn’t answer them the nurse would come running. That didn’t answer all problems but if he could get to the phone in the living room or the bedroom and just knock it off the cradle then he would have someone there real quick.
That unit cost $925 per month plus electricity which normally ran about $50 per month they said.
We thanked Rita and headed to the next one.
“That was good research Deb. That was a very practical and workable space for Franz. If we had no other choice, that one would work.”
“Are you bragging on me?”
“Maybe.”
“It sounded to me like you were bragging on me. Are you slipping?”
“I wouldn’t have to slip to brag on you. I just don’t want to be too easy.”
“I know you were bragging on me. The cat is out of the bag. I know you are proud of me and thankful for me. You are really glad I found you.”
“You didn’t find me. I found you.”
“Are you changing the subject? I think we were talking about how proud of me you are. Maybe something like how lucky you are to have a sweetheart like me. I think you were getting ready to tell me what a catch I am.”
“Oh, so you can tell what I’m about to say now?”
“I’m pretty sure that was it.”
Then she laughed out loud. I leaned over and gave her a kiss on the cheek.
“You are very perceptive. I didn’t even realize I was about to say all those things but when you said them I knew they were true so you got me. I’m sure I was just about to say them.”
She smiled and in short order we were at the second place. I was beginning to have my emotions charged up again and was about to be back to my normal self.
The lady at this place was named Estelle. She was a little older but very nice. All of their units were on the ground floor but several of them opened into an enclosed courtyard. They had a pool there when it was a motel but they had filled that in. There was some beautiful landscaping with lots of flowers. There were raised beds which were islands several places dividing the area into different sitting places. Each of the sitting areas had multiple chairs and tables so a person could sit at a table by themselves to eat or read. Or two or more table could be placed together for larger groups. Each sitting area could probably seat twenty to thirty people. There were several skylights so it was well lit. For someone social like Franz this would really be nice.
There were several groups of people all over the courtyard playing cards or table games. There were also several people sitting by themselves reading or playing games on a table or notebook. This facility had really good high speed internet Estelle told us. That wasn’t important to most of the older guests but to some of the younger ones it was. Some had never had a computer and some watched movies all day.
We went to a unit that was much like the one we had seen before except it didn’t have a bedroom door. The floor plan was “L” shaped and open and the only doors inside the unit were to the bathroom or to the closets. They had less SF than the first unit we saw.
We went to the office and were given information on their most economical options. They had a nurse on duty 24/7 like the other place and like the other place they had an alarm so a guest could get help. Their alarms were activated by a wristband with a red button similar to those things that have a lanyard. They were water proof so the guest were to wear them at all times except when in bed and they were to be put in a charger at night. The charger doubled as a night light so it could be easily found in the dark. The charging stand also had a battery backup so if the electricity went off the night light would still work.
It cost $1050 per month and the electricity was part of the price.
“When they converted it from a motel they didn’t want to run new wire to every room.” I said.
This was a nice place that Franz would like too. Both of them had multiple meal plans so Franz could get seven, fourteen or twenty meals per week. We thanked Estelle and left.
I made good on taking my woman to dinner. She chose Italian and we found a good place.
“Okay, should we take Franz to see each one or since we will be paying part of the fee just pick out one and see if he wants to see it?” I asked Deb.
“I vote for picking one. If he were my dad, that is wha
t I would do. I don’t want to be unkind but at that age he may not care that much and it might be confusing. He probably is more concerned about people to talk to than floor plan.”
“I agree. That is what I think will be the least dramatic for him. I think I like the last one the best for him. He could go out his front door in any weather and find someone to talk to. The courtyard is big enough he could walk around the perimeter and get enough exercise. I think it would be the best for him.”
“Me too! I would be excited to see him there. I think he would be very comfortable and happy.”
We called Margaret and told her what we found and what we felt was in Franz best interest. She sounded excited for him which we took to be genuine. We knew she would be relieved to get him out of her place so she didn’t have to cook the books on his ledger. But she did care for him and wanted him to have a good place to land.
“Margaret, how do you think we should handle breaking the news to him?” Deb said. “You know him better than us. He did take the news about losing his house pretty well didn’t he?”
“He was nice about it and was depressed for a few days but he got over it more quickly than we thought he would. He seemed pretty normal the next day but the nurses and I could tell he was a little sad. Why don’t you come by at your convenience and we will sit down and talk to him together. You could leave his stuff here and take him to see where you want him to go. Then he won’t feel pressured to leave. He might want to see it one day and then a couple of days later make his move. That way he wouldn’t be rushed.”
“Margret that is a great idea. You are really good at this aren’t you?” Deb said.
“I try. Sometimes this business is sad especially when someone we really like passes away. You know we see more than our share of death here. But when one leaves a new one comes in and we keep moving. The new ones need us we tell each other and we know we are doing something that is really worthwhile.”
Deb said just a minute and turned to me. When do you want to go talk to Franz?
I didn’t answer immediately.
“Let’s not do it tonight. We don’t want him upset or excited before bed time. We don’t want to take his sleep. Why not ask Margaret what she thinks. We could come back in the morning.”
Deb got back on the phone with Margaret. They agreed and so we had a morning appointment.
We called Otis and told him what was going on. He was glad we called. He was glad we were taking care of old people. It was comforting to him so that if he ever got old he would know we would take care of him. Then he laughed. He had so many people looking out for him that he would never need our help.
When we got home the girl of my dreams gave me some good things to dream about and I slept really well that night.
The next morning we were headed to see Franz when Otis called.
“Can I go with you?” he asked. “Tilly and I think what you are doing is great and we want to be part of it.”
“Sure,” I said. “We intended to stop somewhere for breakfast and then go see Franz. Have you eaten yet?”
“No, I can’t get a meal out of Tilly. She starves me every day.” Then we heard him yell. She must have been clubbing him or something.
“Okay, let me rephrase that. My precious wife who always takes good care of me has been busy helping me get cleaned up and dressed this morning and we haven’t had time for breakfast yet so we would like to join you.”
We laughed and told them to come on. We waited on them to order. We talked about Franz and then their kids as Tilly called them. She was so thankful for her family. Otis’ legs were healing well. One was almost back to normal but had some serious scars. The other one was functional but looked rough she said. There were still some open wounds so they were having to change bandages every day. And he could only take a bath if they put plastic over the lower part of his leg and used something like duct tape to keep water out. The medical supply store had some bags that were a good size to fit over his foot and go to his knee.
When we got to the nursing home Margaret was looking for us. We introduced Otis and Tilly. Then we all went looking for Franz. We found him talking to a couple people of course. I went up and said good morning and shook his hand. It was a firm handshake for an eighty year old.
“Franz, we have brought some friends that want to meet you. This is Otis. He was in the US army and fought in Korea and Viet Nam. He is really old but he wanted to meet you.”
Franz stood up and very politely stepped forward and shook Otis’ hand. We introduced him to Tilly who always bossed him around. He was glad someone would keep Otis out of trouble.
“Franz can we talk to you for a minute?” Margaret said. And she walked over to a couple of tables that were together with eight chairs around them.
He quietly walked to one of the chairs and sat down.
“We don’t want to scare you Franz but these people want to help you find another place to live. This place is for people that need a lot of help. The doctor who took you out of your house thought you needed a lot of help but you don’t. So these people want to take you to a place that is better for you. Are you okay with that?”
He answered slowly.
“I think that would be okay. It scares me a little but if they will go with me and they think it is okay I’m willing to look at the place they have.” He paused for a minute. Do I have to leave today? I mean can I go look at it today and then come back here?”
“Sure, you can.” She said. “You can do whatever you want. No one will make you do anything you don’t want to do. You don’t have to take any medicine or do anything if you don’t want to.”
We were all quiet for a few minutes. Then Deb started to tell Franz about the new place. She was the ideal one to tell him. Her soft voice and engaging sincerity were all over her face.
“If you like this other place we will help you move over there. Your room would be a little larger and you would have a small kitchen of your own so you could have drinks in the refrigerator. Your room would be inside a covered courtyard so when you come out your front door, you would be going into a big room where you could visit with other people who are your neighbors. That way if it is raining outside you won’t get wet. Other people that live there can come out their front door and sit all around in the courtyard and visit or play games. It will be like you have this huge living room that you share with other people. There is a nice lady there named Estelle that will help us take care of you. How does that sound?”
I whispered to Margaret real low under my breath so Franz could not hear me.
“Yeah, the woman over there is nice to her patients.”
Margaret gave me a mean look and then smiled.
Everyone was quiet giving Franz a minute to think about it.
“Okay, I would like to see the new place and then come back here.”
“That is great.” I said. “That is what we will do.”
We all got up and headed for the door. Franz wasn’t moving very fast. I was walking close to Margaret.
“Why is he walking so slowly? Is he unsure about all this?”
“Probably. He normally walks faster than that so I would guess you are right. Let’s all walk slower.”
We slow peddled until we got him to the car. He got in on his own and buckled up on his own.
“How long has it been since you rode in a car?” I asked.
“I was driving some before the doctor took me to this nursing home. Maybe once a week or so I would go out to get groceries.”
“How do you feel now?”
He didn’t answer real quickly.
“I’m doing okay.”
We rode the rest of the way in silence. When we were getting close I called Estelle and told her. She met us at the door and was very happy to meet Franz. He was cautious but polite. He moved a little slower than we had seen before so we all matched his pace.
Estelle led the way and talked in a low tone about how nice their place was. Then she led
us into the courtyard and stopped so we could all look around and take it all in. She pointed out things that were in the courtyard. There was shuffleboard. There were tables for eating and playing games. There were sofas and chairs where it was comfortable to just sit.
Then she led him to his room. We all stayed back a little so he and Estelle could go over everything that was there. Once he walked out, Otis and Tilly went in and looked around. Then we all just stood outside the room to give him time. After a few minutes Estelle spoke to him.
“Would you like to walk around and meet people? There are several people who would like to meet you.”
Franz walked around and smiled at people nodded to them in acknowledgement but didn’t talk to anyone. After a short stroll around close to where we were he came back.
“Are you ready to go back to the other place?” I asked.
“Yes, I would like to go back.”
“Okay, let’s go to the car. We will take you back.”
He was moving faster now maybe a little scared and a little fast. We drove to the nursing home without saying much. When we got there we helped him get inside. Margaret found us and asked how he liked the new place.
“It was okay, I guess.” He said and that was it. He went to find some of his friends while we told him goodbye.
“We will call in the morning and see if he will tell you what he thinks, if that is okay with you.” I said to Margaret.
“That is a great idea. I think he will be ready tomorrow. He has shown to be pretty tough but he doesn’t want to feel like he has to go.”
“Call you tomorrow.”
Once we got outside Otis spoke up.
“That is great. I will help you pay his bills.”
“You were really quiet, Otis. What happened?
“I was just listening,” He said.
“Well we have a plan so I will let everyone know tomorrow if we are ready for the next step.”