The geriatic patients were something else. Totally enjoyable whether they were alert or confused. One patient or I should say resident was a retired school teacher who was perfectionist. You put her daily change of clothes in a certain order, her toileteries had to be lined up just so. etc. Very alert and so well educated, her stories of the past were informative as well as funny.

One resident was a frail white haired lady with a mind of her own.....don't try to change her mind either. She hated baths and/or showers. Mind you it was a regular WWF trying to get her in the tub or shower. You got bathed too. On one day it was raining real hard and we missed her. I looked out the window and there she was playing and dancing in the rain. My co-student and I were sent to get her. Man oh man what a battle that was. We all were soaked.

A heavy set elderly man was confined to a wheelchair and he got around by using his feet to manuver the chair wherever he wanted to go. He always cornered some old lady and pinched her until someone rescued her. Another man had a one word vocabulary as a result from a stroke. He said Sh_t constantly. You always knew when he was around, his vocabulary announced his pending arrival.

One interesting lady had been there for 40 years. She was admitted in her late 20's. Everyday you dressed her in her panties and bra, then a full corset, with another pair of panties over the top of that, then a full slip, her dress, sweater, then her bathrobe plus her shoes and nylons. Something snapped in her mind on her honeymoon. She was afraid of sex and remained a virgin until the day she died. She hated all males regardless of age. The doctor had to examine her with a sheet over her and he was never allowed to look under the sheet and there had to be 3-4 nurses present during the exam.

Well that is enough for now.

This nursing manor was divided into two separate wings. One was for the residents and the other was for patients who required a long recuperation time. I worked on both while assigned there. Next time if I remember it, I will tell you stories about some of them.