STORIES FROM THE GEEZER APARTMENTS: Dawn


When you least expect it, someone will teach you something new, even though every fiber of your being fights against it. There’s some psychobabble out there regarding people who mistreat you and learning that their behavior isn’t about you. I’m unsure if that’s entirely true, but I’ve occasionally been on the wrong end and taken it very personally. I usually confront it or flee as quickly as possible to protect both of us.
When I moved into my new apartment, the woman next door, Dawn, wouldn’t speak to me even though I expressed a hearty “hello” as I was schlepping box after box into my apartment. Our postage stamp-size yards are adjacent with respective gates leading to our cars, so encountering each other is not unusual. Plus, Dawn has the yappiest dog that freaks out whenever his mistress leaves her apartment. I often admonished the dog and would tell it to shut it. After being spurned the first time, several months would pass before I acknowledged Dawn. I’m ashamed of my behavior.
I was leaving my apartment one day several months ago and noticed the paramedics carrying her out on a stretcher. I had heard rumors that she had cancer, but she appeared healthy. I still didn’t like Dawn because of her behavior toward me and dismissed it as figuring she didn’t want a neighbor. Isn’t it interesting how we conjure all these stories inside our heads when it has nothing to do with reality or with us?
I ran to catch up to her stretcher before she was loaded into the ambulance and asked if she needed me to take care of her dog or if there was anything I could do for her. Dawn had difficulty breathing and was obviously ill, but she told me a friend would retrieve him from her apartment.
Since that encounter, we have been friendly toward each other. Dawn knows that I'm here if she needs anything. After being released from the hospital for a respiratory illness, Dawn told me she had been battling cancer for nine years. It has now metastasized to her lungs, back, and brain. I noticed she had been losing weight over the past 10 months. As I was leaving today, I saw her dog in the yard. I said, "Hello, puppy." I didn't know Dawn was standing on her porch, but she called out to me and asked how I was doing. Can you imagine someone that was dying asking me if I was okay?? I told her I was fine but immediately wanted to know how she was doing. She replied that today would be her last radiation treatment, starting a few months ago, to help control her back and head pain. There’s now nothing to be done except wait for the inevitable. Dawn is almost skeletal now. I had difficulty holding it together as I drove toward my destination, had lunch with my precious grandson, and continued my day. Meanwhile, Dawn is suffering and struggling to get through each day. Why, oh why, is life so cruel?
I mentioned to the apartment manager, Lauren, that I was concerned about Dawn's health and what would happen to the dog when she was gone. Lauren assured me she was keeping a close eye on her. She told Dawn she would adopt the dog after her death, which must have been a massive relief for Dawn. Lauren is a jewel, and I remind everyone I know about her selfless act of love.
The lesson I learned is it truly isn’t always about me! “Everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about. Be kind. Always.” If you’re into prayers or want to send positive thoughts her way, please do it for Dawn. 🙏



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

DR MCELROY AND TEXAS A&M

Image
  I’ve lived my life with integrity, compassion, and honesty.  I don’t back down from a controversial subject and will always speak out against injustice and prejudice.  I received many benefits from being White, although I was still short-shafted regarding equal pay as a woman.   Case in point: I was replaced by two men when I retired from overseeing a 36-bed rehabilitation hospital and 6 outpatient clinics serving children through adults. The man who replaced me had great difficulty managing the inpatient rehabilitation services. Hence, the Healthcare System overseeing the services promoted a male physical therapist to manage the outpatient facilities.  Each of the men was paid more than I.  It’s probably not a stretch to guess that had I been a person of color with the same credentials, I would not have been hired, and doubly so if I had been a woman of color with the same credentials.   A tenured UT journalism professor was recently recruited to Texas A&M to kick-start their jo
Read more

MY LIFE WITH TERI FLANAGAN

Image
  (Teri authored a story about me entitled "My Life with Dana Rushing" in the local newspaper after I moved from Horseshoe Bay to Austin. It was a total surprise and touched me beyond words. She is now in hospice at a facility in Marble Falls. Teri's husband has given me permission to publish this story. It will be in The Beacon this week.) I’m incredibly fortunate to have a friend I could call to assist me with the various projects I began or coordinated while living in Horseshoe Bay for five years. Other friends also answered my call to action, but Teri was always the first one I contacted because I was confident she would agree to help. Teri once said when she saw my name on her caller ID, she knew I wasn’t calling to chat and that she was being recruited for another project. Still, Teri answered my call. Teri is a talented artist and an avid reader. Her beautiful painting of a colorful donkey hangs in my home. A burnt orange wooden walking stick David made helps k
Read more

ROSA PARKS AND THE DREAM

Image
I dreamed of Rosa Parks last night.  She was sitting in a seat in the middle of a bus with Black men sitting on both sides of her.  I figured they were bodyguards and had joined her after news got out that this 'uppity Black woman' had dared to take her place amongst the Whites. The days of sitting in the back of the bus were over for her.  She worked long, hard days at low wages for a white family and had to take a bus every...damn...day.  Her great-grandparents had been slaves.  Enough was enough.   She felt she earned something more than a seat at the back of the bus.   She didn't know that this small act would set up a firestorm of millions of people being emboldened by her.  More and more people began speaking out, demonstrating, and even rioting to bring civil rights to the forefront.  The battle continued until, at last, civil rights passed.  Racism became somewhat more subtle over 50 years. But the Rosa Parks I saw in my dreams is still in that seat.
Read more