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I have a client in a small Texas town who calls on me occasionally-- she's a feisty old lady, in her mid eighties. Her husband has long since passed on, and all her children are scattered across the country, so she's all alone. But happy. About three years ago she bought herself a computer and singlehandedly learned how to use it. Now she spends her days on her dialup connection, browsing the web and playing computer solitaire. She's happy. And VERY independent. She only calls on me when she thinks her computer needs to be tweaked.
She called me yesterday. She had fallen, and had been in the hospital for seven weeks. During this time some of her children had taken up residence in her home, and naturally they got on her computer. So as soon as she was home and able to call, I got the summons.
While there, I learned the whole story of her incredible ordeal. She had fallen while getting out of the tub, and had become wedged in the space between the tub and the commode. Being as old as she is, she had no upper body strength, and so couldn't free herself. Not otherwise seriously hurt, she was just stuck.
She stayed stuck in that tiny space for three days and three nights. She lay on top of her right arm, which rubbed against the tile floor. The elbow started to disintigrate.
I cannot imagine the horror of lying there crying out for hours, your body going tingly numb. Getting thirstier and hungrier, and eventually needing to let nature do what it does to relieve your body. Stuck in that small space, forced to look at a tiny corner of the room, praying for someone, ANYONE, to walk in and find you. Hoping as the day turns to night, and the long night turns back to day, with you unable to move, unable to escape, that you will be discovered before it's too late.
Three days and three nights.
After finally being found and rescued, and recovering in the hospital for almost two months, this woman emerged (almost) whole. She partially lost use of her right arm, but other than that she's as full of life as before. She must have an incredible inner strength to come back from that horrible ordeal and just continue her solitary life just like that.
The only change she's made is she now wears an emergency call button on a chain around her neck.
Her name is Pauline, and she lives in Wylie, Texas.
God bless her.
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