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| Cathy Zehner, Chuck Zehner, and Jean Zen Hospice, 2/5/13 |
In Brief
Jean has
been talking less over the last week, dozing more. A good visit can mean that she wakes up and
makes meaningful eye contact. Currently,
Jean's inner circle consists of Matt and Karen Creech, since Jean's sister Anne
is spending a little time back in West Palm Beach. However, Jean has had many physical and
virtual visitors, and our cat Clark has become a consistent presence at the
hospice.
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| Jean and Clark Zen Hospice 2/6/2013 |
Clark
decided to visit Jean Tuesday, with the understanding that feline overnights
are forbidden. Flaunting the rules,
Clark has spent Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday and is considering trying to
push his luck as far as it will go. He is firmly ensconced in Jean's bed,
spending hours stretched out across her lap, vigilantly safeguarding her
well-being. He will not easily be
persuaded to relinquish his post.
Superbowl Sunday: Visits from Karen Creech and the Dranits
Karen
Creech came by the hospice Sunday to visit Jean, carrying a bag of chips, fully
prepared to eat junk food while she watched the big game and cheered the Niners
onto victory. She had to content herself
with two out of three, crunching the last chips during the final moments of the
failed comeback.
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| New manicure Zen Hospice 2/3/13 |
Susie
Dranit, her daughter and her husband also dropped by the hospice Sunday during
Superbowl time, with the intention of giving Jean a manicure, while they
conceded just enough to the dominant culture to be cognizant of the game in
progress. Everything went according to
plan. The polish was easy to apply while
Jean dozed, and they could look at Karen's laptop, and her demeanor, for a
gloss on the game as it unfolded.
Monday: Skyping with Ellen McCarthy and Ray Lewis
Appropriately
enough in the week of Clark's visit, both Ellen and Ray had animal success
stories to reported.
Ellen, a
friend of Jean's from her days at Math Reviews, told about doing physical
therapy exercises with her horse James Bond. James stretches his neck back to
get a treat placed against his flank, and this may help with a problem that
caused Ellen to thrown from the saddle last year around Thanksgiving time. Ray, Jean's brother, described the care he
lavishes on his cat Ringo, and reported that Ringo has started to be more
affectionate to him in return.
Tuesday: Visits from Chuck and Kathy Zehner, and Clark
Our good
friends Chuck and Kathy decided to take a break from the Illinois winter to
sample the February springtime in Northern California. In part they were motivated to visit their
son Nicholas, very happily employed at Pixar, those glamorous purveyors of new
media. And of course they also wanted to
see Jean, whom they met on the same 2007 Prairie Home Companion cruise on which
Jean also met Lindy Ruddiman. They
dropped by Tuesday afternoon, and while Kathy rubbed rose lotion on Jean's
hands, Chuck played songs on his guitar.
They promised to return soon, after Chuck learns to play some Michael
Jackson tunes.
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| Clark Warning Sign Zen Hospice 2/7/13 |
Clark
also came to the hospice Tuesday, and was a big hit with everybody from the
moment of his arrival: with Jean of course, but also with the volunteers and even
the paid staff. The one bad moment came Wednesday morning, when it seemed he
had gone missing. He was found curled
around the levers on the inside of the electric EZ chair, and we thought at
first he might have been injured when Matt pressed the recline button the night
before. But he was unscathed, and the
staff posted the sign show in the photo to accommodate Clark's predilections
and prevent and future mishap.
Wednesday: Skyping with Mei-Yao Louis
Jean's
friendship with Yao started when they ran cross-country at Huron High. As Yao recalls it, Jean's main interest was
band, and she did not have time for many practice runs, but she signed up for
cross-country anyway to show her support for sports for girls. When the time came for their meet, only Yao
and Jean actually ran; the other girls, who had been able to practice, all came
up with excuses. Thereafter, Yao always
valued Jean for her enthusiasm and courage, her ability to turn something
intimidating into something fun and interesting.
Their
friendship continued through their undergraduate days at University of
Michigan, where they were housemates together in several residences. Yao is now a veterinarian, and Clark's
presence at the hospice was actually her idea. She was pleased that it had
worked out well, and enjoyed seeing Clark on the video call.
Thursday: Skyping with Shadie Rowshan; a visit from Ken Eichstaedt
Shadie is
an old friend of the Lewis family, and like them a devoted cat lover; he was as
pleased as any of the Lewises by Clark's visit.
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| Jean, Clark, Kim (massage therapist), and Ken Eichsteadt Zen Hospice 2/7/13 |
Ken
Eichstaedt is a colleague of Jean's at URS who has visited her several times at
the hospice. We had a pleasant chat
about many topics, including books, music, and the way things do and don't work
out in life as one might wish. Ken had a
John Irving book to recommend, A Night at Twisted River, which he promised to
bring with him next time
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