More Gall

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Pop spent his 96th birthday in hospital room 4132, recovering from the removal of his gallbladder. His dinner tray came with a frosted cupcake he couldn’t eat. Why? Well, he’s lactose intolerant. That aside, in honor of his birthday, the doctors cancelled the liquid-only diet he’s been on since last Wednesday. Pop’s birthday was yesterday (Sunday). Today is Monday (duh) and I really hope he’ll get to go home. By the way, I learned a new word a few days ago: “sundowning.” According to one of the nurses, this happens when an elderly patient forgets where they are and hallucinates that they are anywhere else. As you might’ve guessed, it often occurs around sunset. Nobody really knows for sure, but it might have something to do with “circadian rhythms.” Supposedly, thanks to “sundowning,” all new hospital rooms are required to have a window.* Last night, in room 4132, Pop kept asking me for the time. Repeatedly, he wanted to know how much “this house cost to rent.” Again and again, he’d ask, “Who checked me in?” 

11 August 2005 

*Insofar as Pop and Betty were concerned, the presence of a window never made a difference. Three days into any given hospital stay, Pop was usually “floating.” Over and over again, he’d say, “I’m way up here. You’re way down there.” He’d say that even if you were standing over him at his bedside. On several occasions, the nurses had to strap his wrists to the bedrails. And as for Betty, if she wasn’t in her assisted living room by sunset, she’d become anxious about getting back to the family farm. Thing is, she hadn’t been a farm girl since the Truman Administration.

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