She is very, very thin. Really thin. It's scary. She looks like she could just break. With preventing this in view, the therapist demonstrated what we should do when Grandma uses the stairs, what exercises I should have her do every day until the home therapy people come and tell me something completely different, and what I should prevent her doing. (Crossing her legs and otherwise turning in her left leg. The ball of her leg bone threatens to pop out of the socket if she puts too much stress on it, like letting that knee cross her midline.) I made mental notes and fortunately have printed notes for the exercises, because I know I wouldn't be able to forget those.
I also got to meet the therapy dog Mom told me about, because Brynn, the therapist abovementioned, is his handler. Rocker is a very mellow pale Golden Retriever, and it is fortunate he adores being petted, because that's his job: quietly and mellowly letting people pet him. He stayed with us all through his handler's talks, so I had the opportunity to pet him very thoroughly. He seemed to appreciate my Lark-honed Canine Massage™ technique--he ended up keeling over, half on my lap, and (still mellowly) asking for a tummy rub. And he doesn't precisely ask: nothing so aggressive. No, Rocker presents himself and hopes. When he saw Mom sitting in Grandma's room, he immediately went up to her and laid his head in her lap. He was approaching me hopefully every time I reencountered him: oh, it's that nice girl who does the thorough scratches. Will she pet me more?
Mom and I were discussing the probable cost of a dog specially bred and trained to behave like a comatose sheep. A Web search produced this paragraph, from the Susquehanna Service Dogs site:
The fee for purchasing one of our service or hearing dogs is $5,000. Clients may apply for a need-based scholarship. The actual cost is $20,000 to train and place each service dog or hearing dog. Because of many generous individuals and businesses providing in-kind services, we can provide these dogs at a cost of $11,000. The additional funding and the scholarships come from individuals, groups, contributions, corporations, and fundraising.
Right. Something like that. And Mum figures the cost would be more if it's a center, as opposed to a needy individual. Meep.
A couple of Grandma's friends came to her room while Mom and I were there. The first was a lady from her church, the wife of the organist who played at Mom's wedding. Shortly after her arrival came Jinn, a very old friend of Grandma's who is a joy to observe. Jinn has a round, brown, wrinkled face, and is short and very thin. She makes me think of a wren, and she's about as lively as a little bird. She and the ladies from church are all set to completely relieve me of any cooking duties short of managing leftovers, for which I am very thankful. Jinn also told me that if I ever wanted to go somewhere, while Grandma was napping, say, I should just call her. It's very nice of her, and while I'll try not to abuse her kindness it's nice to know I have the option.
Lark, o most wonderful of dogs, slept most of the way, drooled only slightly, and was in general very well-behaved. She was very glad to arrive, however, and settled in quickly. I'm afraid she hasn't had a walk today, though, so hopefully I'll be able to take her out tomorrow. First, though, we're going to get Grandma Jane from the Center and bring her home; around noon Jinn is coming over; and Philip is coming over, as some point undisclosed. Which is to say some time tomorrow.
And now I am very tired, having gotten up at five this morning, and so I will now begin to prepare for bed at the radical hour of 9:15 CST (eight here, if you wondered.)
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