file under: missing

screaming o.d. was still in the ER when i went back to work the next night. when i first sat down, she was talking about needing to leave because her dog had been alone for the past 3 days without food or water. one of the nurses tried to get her address and possibly the phone number of a friend who could check in on her pet, but she kept screaming, "i don't trust you!" everyone was relieved when she was eventually sedated.

that sorta reminded me of the time (when i worked at the rehab hospital) that the police called because they had busted down the door of a patient's apartment. he was an old guy, 92 or so and more or less senile. he only managed to live alone because his neighbors checked in on him so much. anyway, the police had broken in because the neighbors hadn't seen the old guy around for a few days, so they assumed he had died. he'd actually been with us for around a week by that point, recovering from a broken hip or something (i can't remember exactly). the police put his door back on its hinges and then used that yellow tape to keep others out.

i was trying to find out some kind of contact or next of kin information when he first came in, but all he could tell me was, "there's a chinese man who parks his car in my driveway, but i don't know his name or where he lives." that was literally the first person that came to mind when i asked him who we should put down as his next of kin.

how many of the elderly are that alone in the world, tucked away in their apartments or homes, depending on neighbors to help them get by? i'm sure the statistics are startling.