She came into the lab waiting room not long before the staff was going to lock the door for 12:00 lunch, but because the room was packed with people waiting for tests to be performed, you could tell that the staff wasn’t going to have much time, if any, for lunch before they would have to re-open. The lady was small and exuded a certain air of dignity and elegance. Her age was advanced, and she seemed a little bit disoriented as she made her way up to the receptionist with small steps with the aid of a quad cane. She wore a beautiful fleece jacket with cardinal birds all over it. Well, some of us were shooting the breeze (let’s cheer up these people!), so when she sat down next to me, I asked her where she got her beautiful jacket; she asked me to repeat myself because she had forgotten her hearing aid. She informed me that she had made it herself, and I must say it was a beautiful piece of work in every detail. We talked about sewing, and she said she had six machines, mostly Vikings, but she couldn’t sew anymore. She said she had a little six-year-old Cocker Spaniel named Buffy (or Muffy- I wouldn’t ask her to repeat). She said she had fallen twice recently, but she had Life Alert, and she’d never give up her dog. I asked her if someone was helping her, and she said she had no one. No family. The neighbors were hardly ever home. Furthermore, she had driven herself there, AND she was 93! She said she had called “places”, and they wanted $100 per day. Before I left the lab, I took her hand and suggested she tell her doctor that she could use a little help and she didn’t want to pay. She smiled.

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