Sandwiched
It’s hard to believe that my column is approaching its one-year anniversary, all thanks to a huge shove from two persistent Noblesville ladies, Julie and Joan (pronounced JO-Ann.)
For those of you who weren’t with me from the beginning, this mother-daughter duo insisted that I returned to writing columns when they met me while I was volunteering for the 2018 Noblesville Historic Home Tour. Being a fairly new member of the Sandwich Generation, people who care for their aging parents while supporting their own children, I figured I had a theme that could keep me going from week to week. I’ve had no trouble coming up with topics!
And you, Dear Readers, have been incredibly supportive. Many of you have shared your own Sandwich Generation stories with me. From heart-warming to sometimes heart-breaking, it’s comforting to know that there are many Central Indiana folks going through some of the same experiences.
For the most part, the past year has been fairly uneventful for my mother – knock on wood. No falls or injuries, although you may recall she had to have multiple patches of carcinoma removed from her skin. (Ouch!)
I did, however, have smoke coming out of my ears a couple of weeks ago. Mom’s leg had been bothering her, so her doctor ordered a mobile imaging service to come and take an X-ray of it.
She called me on a Tuesday evening wondering when they would arrive. Unfortunately, no one at her assisted living facility had any idea. All they could tell her was she’d have to wait and see when the imaging folks would show up. That didn’t thrill Mom, as she’s a planner like me who likes to know what’s happening and when.
Imagine Mom’s shock when someone knocked at her door at 5 a.m. the next morning for her X-ray! Poor Mom was exhausted and miserable the rest of the day, as she typically doesn’t rise until 7:30 a.m. My jaw dropped when I heard the news.
Unfortunately, I didn’t have time to find out the name of the company, as I was about to leave for Boston and had a lot of work to do before my trip. But you can bet as soon as I was back and settled that I found out who it was and wrote a “strongly worded” email to their executive vice-president. Amazingly, he responded within 20 minutes and thanked me for bringing the situation to his attention.
Now our current problem is, despite having the X-ray taken over two weeks ago, we still don’t know what is going on with Mom’s leg. Strange. I’ve called the doctor twice and now my sister is calling as well. We’re on the warpath and hope to have our answer soon.
All in all, I realize things could be much worse and am grateful for Mom’s “village” that includes family, friends and employees at her facility. Together, we help this special lady live her best life possible.
I thank you all for this opportunity and look forward to exchanging more stories in the years to come!