IT'S ALL IN THE FAMILY

Two weeks ago my 83-year-old sister Robin had a serious back operation. For months, she’d been in a wheelchair and using a walker. Surgery offered the chance for respite from near-constant sciatic agony. 

After she was moved to the Helen Hayes Rehabilitation Hospital in West Haverstraw, NY, I drove from Maine for a weekend visit. I also wanted to spend time with and help her partner Shirley. We planned to play Rummikub over cocktails and prepare the house for Robin’s return.

But as Robert Burns said about the best laid plans…..

My “gang aft agley” began shortly after midnight on the day I arrived, Shirley fainted, fell and broke her clavicle. Shirl is in her late 70s, she suffers from Crohn’s disease and has heart issues, not a winning trifecta. As she was whisked off to the hospital, I “recalculated” my two day visit, remembering Captain Edward J. Smith’s last words on April 14, 1912: “It’s every man for himself now.”

While the Aunties (as they are known in our family) lay recovering in their separate and distant hospital beds, I was in charge of Beuller, their friendly drooly dog who is the size of a SubZero refrigerator, but not as intelligent. Beuller’s favorite activity was gnawing a two-foot-long piece of rawhide or slurp-slurp-slurping up my leg when he wasn’t stretched out snoring on the full length of the couch. 

I also had to get acquainted with their outdoor cat Ferdinand who’s blind and deaf, yet ravenous 24/7. Despite his disabilities, Ferdie was instantaneously aware and figure-eighting around my legs whenever I walked out any door. “Meow meow meow….” “But I just fed you…”

Fortunately, our brother Ross had recently relocated from New Mexico and was living with Robin and Shirley until his nearby apartment became available. Unfortunately, Ross has Parkinson’s which hampers his mobility a bit. (Uh, maybe re-read Captain Smith’s words above.) I suggested he be in charge of their swimming pool maintenance.

And there I was, with only two day’s of my meds, a scant supply of undies, two tee shirts and a pair of Bermuda shorts. (When I started running out of outfits 48 hours into my visit, I contemplated borrowing clothes from the Aunties, but their sartorial inclinations are unique, not to mention that one of their closets is filled to the brim with feathered boas.) 

It was easier to do laundry every day.

The week passed slowly, interspersed with visits to Robin and Shirley, plus phone calls to home nursing agencies. I had time to think and reflect about our age and the “perfect storms” looming on the horizon — surgeries and falls, crippling arthritis and other senior health issues, aging pets who need daily care. Growing old entails a helluva lot more than greying hair.

On the morning after the ladies came home and settled in for a month of rest and rehabilitation with 24/7 nursing, I noticed a bright red cardinal on the fence outside their living room. I’ve always heard that seeing a cardinal near your window brings good fortune for the next year. Let’s hope so.

The Aunties could use some luck — and for sure, Beuller and Ferdinand could use a new handler. The Aunties fortunately have a crew of devoted and helpful friends nearby. Time to go home to Maine.