Joyce's KP Adventure mikepasini.com headlines
Happy Fourth
4 July 2025
It's a little ironic to call the Fourth of July this year Independence Day. I'd hoped in June to be able to bring Joyce home in July but I had to admit that as much as she has improved, there's still a long way to go.
Then, too, I haven't improved much either. I'm driving but it's difficult. The biggest problem is pedestrians who almost disappear when they come to a corner and only take a skinny form like a Giacometti figure when they step into the crosswalk. I have to look twice before proceeding.
Alone at home I find my energy flagging just before dinner. And after dinner, it's gone. I'm shocked at the time on the clock when I turn the sheets back and climb into bed.
There is something to the notion that, at a certain age, you no longer recovery completely. You recover from each event only partially, so you are less and less able to do what you once didn't think twice about.
Independence Day? It's for kids.
Leave home. Elope. Run away. When you're old, you won't be able to. They'll put you in a chair with wheels to push you around. If they let you up, it's only to stand in a three-sided cage with tennis balls on its legs.
And don't even think about the food.
Moments before that photo of Joyce, she brought Daisy and Wendy, the RNAs, to tears by thanking them for working with her on the stairs. She had been yelling at them about it, afraid to do another set. "That's the last one!"she would yell. And we'd all tell her to take a break, a deep breath, relax, one more. "How many more?" she would demand.
But when it was over and I reminded her to thank them, they were touched. She wasn't mad at them, she was afraid. And now that the fear had dissipated, she really did appreciate their help.
On another note entirely, I had asked a friend for a salon recommendation so Joyce could get her hair professionally washed and cut. Another thing they don't do well at the SNF. I called the fellow my friend recommended to set up an appointment for Joyce. He'll see her on Aug. 1.
I mentioned to one person (who shall remain nameless) that I just might have him dye her hair blonde, too. "Do it!" she said.
But there are probably less expensive ways to have more fun. Even if you're not independent.