At 9:28 p.m. on February 20, 2016, in room 214 at Glengariff Nursing Home in Glen Cove, N.Y., my father, Gerard H. Teevan, 92, waited for someone on staff to put him to bed. Forty-five minutes had passed since I asked an aide and a nurse to take care of him. They promised to come by. We waited.
At last, exhausted, he laid his head on the table. I took this picture with my cellphone, and brought it to a nurse. Wait, they said. We have lots of patients. We’re busy.
They came, 20 minutes later.
It was not the end of the world. Still, I look back, and my heart breaks. My father never complained. He just did what he was told. Wait. When you’re 92, you have no choice.
Wait.
No one who’s 92 should have to wait for anything.
life2016 