Saturday, September 1, 1984

CHAPTER 9, 1984

Ruth was still asleep when I woke up this morning. I woke her up, helped her go to the toilet, and fed her applesauce with a high protein drink to take with her medicines. The day shift worker came before I had a chance to feed her breakfast, but I had it warming in Ruth's toaster oven. We were talking when Ruth suddenly slumped over in her wheelchair. She was cold, clammy, white and limp. An ambulance and Ruth's doctor was called. I went to the hospital with Ruth and Ruth revived a little bit in the Emergency Room, them I went home.

I swept, dusted, washed, re-dusted, re-washed, waxed and re-waxed the kitchen floor and entryway. The dirt and sand, tracked in and out all summer, had destroyed the previously waxed finish. I had just finished when Sally, Ruth's day shift caretaker, came over with my paycheck. In all the excitement this morning, I was shorted $42.00 on my paycheck. I got paid $105.00. Sally assured me the mistake would be corrected next week.

Ruth was diagnosed as severely anemic and had been given two pints of blood.

I have bugs in my bedroom, little flying bugs that look like green ladybugs. I killed about fifty of them. I also saw two small wood roaches in the bathtub today. I'm also still killing a dozen flies everyday.

I made up the waterbed by putting a blanket between the mattress and the bottom sheet, and plugged it in.

I'll finish cleaning the house tomorrow and run another ad in the local newspaper for a tenant Tuesday.

Greg had some friends over and they swam in the pool.