Directions
Last night something happened that makes me really dread getting old.
I went out to get some last minute stuff for the Valentine's Day Dance and stopped by a mini-mart at Jolly and Hagadorn to get something to drink. An elderly lady came in after me asking for directions to get to 496. She told the clerk she lived at St. Joe and Waverly but didn't know how to get home. The clerk must have told her 4 or 5 times how to take 127 to 496. I could tell she was frustrated because she could not understand how to even get to 127. During their conversation I heard her tell the clerk that she had a broken hip and that it was hard for her to get around. I walked out behind her totally expecting her to get into the passenger side of the car, but she didn't - she was the driver!!! I decided that I would help her get to 127 since I live 1/2 mile from there. I told her where we would be going and that I would turn my blinker on to show her where to get on the highway. She proceeded to follow me to 127 where I turned my blinker on to show her where to turn. Well, she didn't turn. I realized she still didn't understand where to go. It was 10:00pm by this time and really foggy and hard to see. I decided to just take her to the Waverly exit off of 496 so I would know she at least got that far safely. She had told me she knew how to get home from 496 as soon as she saw the Value City sign.
I got off the Waverly exit and pulled into a parking lot to talk with her and make sure she knew where she was. Well, she still didn't. I showed her that Value City was right across the street but she was still disoriented. All she knew was her address and that she lived 3 blocks down on St. Joe. By this point I figured I was this far, why not take her all the way home. She tried to tell me which was on St. Joe she lived, but after driving that way, I realized she was wrong. We finally found her house around 10:30pm.
As I drove home I began to wonder what would have happened if she would have tried to find her way home on her own. The really scary thing is that when we got on the interstate she was going about 40 miles an hour for the first couple miles! With it being so foggy out it's a miracle she didn't get hit by another car. Just gave me a lot to think about.
I went out to get some last minute stuff for the Valentine's Day Dance and stopped by a mini-mart at Jolly and Hagadorn to get something to drink. An elderly lady came in after me asking for directions to get to 496. She told the clerk she lived at St. Joe and Waverly but didn't know how to get home. The clerk must have told her 4 or 5 times how to take 127 to 496. I could tell she was frustrated because she could not understand how to even get to 127. During their conversation I heard her tell the clerk that she had a broken hip and that it was hard for her to get around. I walked out behind her totally expecting her to get into the passenger side of the car, but she didn't - she was the driver!!! I decided that I would help her get to 127 since I live 1/2 mile from there. I told her where we would be going and that I would turn my blinker on to show her where to get on the highway. She proceeded to follow me to 127 where I turned my blinker on to show her where to turn. Well, she didn't turn. I realized she still didn't understand where to go. It was 10:00pm by this time and really foggy and hard to see. I decided to just take her to the Waverly exit off of 496 so I would know she at least got that far safely. She had told me she knew how to get home from 496 as soon as she saw the Value City sign.
I got off the Waverly exit and pulled into a parking lot to talk with her and make sure she knew where she was. Well, she still didn't. I showed her that Value City was right across the street but she was still disoriented. All she knew was her address and that she lived 3 blocks down on St. Joe. By this point I figured I was this far, why not take her all the way home. She tried to tell me which was on St. Joe she lived, but after driving that way, I realized she was wrong. We finally found her house around 10:30pm.
As I drove home I began to wonder what would have happened if she would have tried to find her way home on her own. The really scary thing is that when we got on the interstate she was going about 40 miles an hour for the first couple miles! With it being so foggy out it's a miracle she didn't get hit by another car. Just gave me a lot to think about.
posted by Tricia at 8:58 PM
3 Comments:
Way to be nice to the older folks, Tricia! When I worked at a hospital, I once had an older lady with Alzheimer's ask me to tell her her name, because she couldn't remember it. It's scary to think of what the mind does to us when we get older.
Wow Tricia, your post made me think of something I just posted about minutes before - I have been going through Proverbs with the church and am on Proverbs 3.
"Do not withold good from those who deserve it when it's in your power to help them. If you can help your neighbor now, don't say, Come back tomorrow, and then I'll help you."
Way to show us how we should put this into action!
Awesome!
Shanna
Post a Comment
<< Home