170 - Guinea Piggedness

I was finally able to spend some “quality” time with Mary on Sunday. Teri and Donna brought bbq lunch to the rehab center, and we crowded around her bed to eat lunch with her and hopefully pick her spirits up a bit. I just love Mary. At 84 years old, recovering from cervical spinal surgery, facing lumbar spinal surgery, trying to regain the use of her hands and legs, she still has a quick wit and awesome sense of humor.

Teri had brought in a power strip so she could plug both her cell phone and her DVD player in at the same time. Evidently, that’s against the rules (but it’s not posted anywhere or in the paperwork). The maintenance man tried to confiscate the power strip, but she told him absolutely not, just put it in the closet. When she told us about this, she ended with, “They didn’t like this maintenance man running down the hall with an 84 year old woman clutching his pant leg!”

She also said something like, “Since Florida takes old folks.” I had absolutely no clue what she was referring to; Teri translated for me. The University of Florida has a program where a person can bequeath their body (after passing of course) to science, regardless of the person’s age. So, “Florida takes old folks.” This turned into Mary’s “guinea piggedness” and how she will be their guinea pig when that time comes (many years from now). Once their done with the “old folk,” they cremate and sprinkle the ashes in the Gulf of Mexico (if the family doesn’t want them back). Mary wants to be sprinkled. My comment, without hesitation, was that if we have a hurricate named “Mary” after that, I was going to hunt her down in the afterlife!!!

Before leaving, we made sure to take a picture of her in her University of Tennessee snuggie. You see, Teri and Donna had the audacity of getting her a University of Florida snuggie. Oh my. You know I just can’t let that go. She had to then have a UT snuggie. All that blue… I get the creepy-crawlies up my back just thinking of it! Of course, the nurses and PTs have threatened all sorts of ugly things against the UT snuggie, but she’s bravely keeping it safe! I think she looks just fantastic in that wonderful orange!

It was pretty awesome to be able to have the conversation and joking that we’ve had on so many occasions. I know it lifted my spirits; I so hope it lifted hers.

TTFN!