My neighbor, Clara, who is 97 years young and an amazing woman was taken by ambulance to the Harris Hospital emergency room Friday morning. I was looking out my front window when I noticed a policeman pulling up in front of Clara's house. I quickly put my contacts in...put on some slippers and ran over to check on Clara. Moments after I walked into the house...MedStar showed up to take her to the hospital. Seems Clara woke up and was having trouble breathing.
Clara is a special neighbor to all of us. She lives alone (can you believe it)....she does have a nephew who lives in an apartment at the back of Clara's house who watches after her, but Clara insists on doing for herself. That includes making meals.....making her bed (takes her over an hour)....cleaning house and anything else she needs or wants. She recently stopped driving. Yes, she has a valid driver's license still. Scary part is she can't hear....and her reaction time is very minimum, but she was out there on the streets driving to the grocery store and to the beauty parlor up until last fall. I sighed a sigh of relief when I found out she stopped driving. She knows she shouldn't drive, but she said just knowing her license does not expire for another year makes her feel good.......actually her word was 'proud'.
Clara wears one of those medical alert buttons around her neck and she used it Friday morning when she woke up having trouble breathing.......BUT not before she:
(1.) Gave herself a sponge bath
(2.) Brushed her hair
(3.) Put some money in her wallet from her safe
(4.) Changed into her 'special going to the hospital silk pajamas'
(5.) Opened the door for the Medstar ambulance
She was blessed that she was not having serious health issues that morning...ie heart attack or stroke.
Clara was taken to probably one of the best hospitals in the state of Texas, but even in the best hospital it does take time to figure out what is happening. After test, after test....and hours upon hours later....they took her upstairs into a private room. She arrived at the hospital at 7:30 in the morning and finally went to her private room at 9:30 at NIGHT..! She was so tired, but really never complained. She did let the nurses know she was having a problem with her bladder and she was not happy about that as she was miserable. She was so cute telling all the nurses who were trying to help her in and out of bed...."I can do it myself. I don't need help!!" Miss independence!!! Strong.....determined.....and knows what she wants!!
I stayed with her all day and once she was settled in her room I left the hospital to go home. Upon leaving the hospital I could not find my car and it took me a long time to find it. All the parking structures looked the same and I was lost. Fortunately for me Clara's sister in law was driving me around looking for my car until we found it!! Yay!!
Early Saturday morning I was back at the hospital checking on Clara. She was having breakfast and looked so good. We waited for family to arrive and for the doctor to arrive. All tests were in and her heart and lungs were clear. The only thing the doctors could determine was wrong was her shoulder had been acting up and caused her not to feel 100 percent. She has a shoulder with extreme arthritis in it.....the joint is swollen with fluid and all the surrounding area is black and blue. The joint caused her heart enzymes to be higher than normal...therefore tests had to be run on her heart. There is not much the doctors can do for Clara's arthritis. Steroids and other drugs would cause Clara more discomfort and could lead to worse health issues. They did suggest she have the joint drained of the blood...but knowing Clara...that won't happen!!
I want to be just like her when I grow up.....she's a pistol and loves life!! A sweet little 'old' lady who has won the hearts of neighbors...family.....friends......and the entire staff at Harris Hospital who helped her for two days. She is a delight and I love her very much.
