Chompers and Church

Ms J is a faithful churchgoer and a loving person. When one first meets her, her gentle smile instantly calms and encourages conversation. She was the wife of prominent dentist in Halifax who has gone before her and she comments on him often. Our trips to the shopping centre so she can sit with her “buddies” or trips to the Church so she can attend meetings are always filled with comments on her late husband and the condition of the world.

One of the first days she was at the residence, and I will always remember it, she had booked the van to go to the Church for a regular meeting. As she was feeling light-headed in the warmth inside she decided to step outside to wait for me to load another person on the opposite side of the van. When I rounded the front of the van to get the door for Ms J, I looked to my left at the gate to the terrace and only saw two feet pointing up from the limestone sidewalk. Ms J had fainted and leaned back into gate that was ajar and landed millimeters from the corner of a stack of limestone. First responders immediately tended to her and 911 paramedics took her under their capable wings. I waved to her as she got into the ambulance and said she was in good hands. She calmly replied with a genuine “thank you”. And she added with a smile “I guess I don’t have to attend that meeting after all.”

[It is with such occurrences that one realizes the importance of such facilities. It was the eye-opener for me and I became doubly alert and I tend to each resident individually]