Another Mishap, Another Muncy Stay and More Memories

On May 5th, 2016, Nana fell while getting her Sprite out of the refrigerator. With Sharon visiting Lori in Delaware, Bill and Marcia, Jeff, and Cindy, Nana's caregiver, arrived with the ambulance crew. Nana was up walking around almost immediately so it appeared there was no broken bones, but she had a nasty, bleeding cut on her arm.

The ambulance transported her to Muncy Valley Hospital. When it was confirmed she hadn't suffered any broken bones, they patched up her arm and admitted her to the hospital. Nana's hospital stay lasted until June 4th when she was released to go home after almost a month of rehab.

Nana's doctor in Muncy, Dr. Elangbam, was a strong advocate for us to get her back home. Unlike other health care practitioners that Nana encountered in her previous stays in Muncy Skilled Nursing Unit, Dr. Elangbam knows that seniors always do better in their own home whenever possible.

My May visit with Nana was while she was still in the hospital. During that time, we had lots of time to chat and talk about Nana's memories. I've heard lots of Nana's stories but what amazes me is that I can still learn things I hadn't known before. Like......

Nana's childhood school experience:
When Nana was six years old, she was supposed to start school. At that time, Grandma Tilburg - Nana's mother - had left Pap Tilburg because he regularly got drunk and beat her. Grandma Tilburg, Uncle John and Nana were living in Williamsport with Nana's sisters, Auntie (Elizabeth) and Aunt Grace. The first day of school, Nana cried and cried. She was still very upset about her mom and dad. The school said that she could wait until the next fall to go to school. By that fall, when she was seven, Grandma Tilburg and Pap Tilburg were back together and living outside of Elimsport so Nana started school at Pikes Peak, a rural, one room school house.

Nana's Austin Memories:
Nana loves to talk about her time in Austin in 1943-1944. I thought I'd heard all her experiences but there's some new info here:
Mabel Huckabee, the kind lady who owned the boarding house where Nana stayed while she lived in Texas, had a son to her first marriage. His name was Earl Haskell. He was only 17 years old when Nana moved there but soon was going to be attending the University of Texas. Earl liked to tease Nana - he called her a Yankee - but it was all in fun. Nana was only 19 herself so they were really quite close in age.
Nana's first room at the boarding house was very nice. She said it even had a door. But soon after she arrived, a Captain and his wife needed a room and Nana was moved to a room at the front of the house. It wasn't a separate room - just divided from the house by a folding screen. On Saturday nights, Mabel often housed soldiers. Sometimes these soldiers wanted to go in Nana's room and "sleep" with her. When that happened, Nana called Mabel and she always came to Nana's rescue and chased them away.
While Nana was at the boarding house, she paid Mabel so she could eat her main meal there. Everyone ate together, sitting at big tables. Nana remembers that at Christmas, when, of course, she couldn't be home with her family, Mabel invited Nana to eat with her and her family.
Mabel's husband - Nana just knew him as Mr. Huckabee - was a kind man who she thought worked at an office job. He was too old to be in the service. Nana normally walked to work everyday at her job at Steck's Publishing, located close to the Texas Capitol Building. But one day it was pouring down raining and Mr. Huckabee drove her to work.
In back of Mabel's boarding house were two apartments above a garage. Nana remembered the two couples who lived there. One was Mary and Matt Chrillia (phonetic spelling). They were from Pittsburgh, PA and had a baby just before Nana left. The other couple was Margaret and Harry Dillon from Ohio. Per Nana, they were an older couple. I'm so amazed at the details she remembers after 73 years.

Nana's job at Montgomery Mills:
Nana talked about going to work at Montgomery Mills in the ball spinning department. When she started, she was paid 75cents an hour to spin wispy rayon thread on tiny wooden balls. To start the thread on the ball, she had to use glue which I'm sure was toxic to breathe. Just to meet production goals, she had to complete 13 gross a day. At 144 balls per gross, that's almost 2000 balls per day! She remembered her boss, Kate Grady, pounding her fist on the table, demanding her to produce more and more. By the time her job was eliminated, she earned less than $3 per hour.

Everyday, I'm  grateful for Nana -  for her memories, for making it out of Muncy one more time, and for her presence in my life.

Nana and Sharon and Diane - Muncy Valley Hosp May 2016