I wrote to my son every day to express how much I missed him when he suggested that I move into a nursing home. Until a stranger came to take me home one day and explained why, he never answered any of them. I was diagnosed with osteoporosis at the age of 81, which prevented me from moving around independently. My son Tyler and his wife Macy decided to admit me to a nursing home since they found it impossible to care for me due to my condition.
Tyler told me, “We can’t be caring for you all day, mom.” “We’ve got work to do. “We are not caregivers.”I was perplexed as to why he now felt that way about me, given that I had always attempted to remain out of their way so as not to interrupt their daily routines. I would stay in my room and use my walker to help me walk to other parts of the house. “I will remain out of your way, I promise.
Please don’t put me to a nursing home. “Your father built this house for me, and I’d love to live here for the rest of my life,” I begged. Tyler dismissed me, claiming that the house my late husband James had built was “too big for me.””Come on, Mom,” he urged. “Leave the house to Macy and myself! Look at all of this space; we can have a gym and different offices. There’s plenty of space to renovate.”
At this time, I understood that his goal in sending me to a nursing home was to take over my home rather than to give me competent care. I was overcome with sadness and found it difficult to contain my tears as I understood that somehow,
Tyler had become a self-centered individual.Where did I make a mistake? When I walked inside my room that evening, I asked myself. I thought I had brought up a polite man, but apparently I was wrong. I never thought my son would betray me. I was taken to a nearby nursing home by Tyler and Macy, who assured me that the staff would provide me with 24-hour care. “Do not worry, mom; we will pay you visits as often as possible,” Tyler promised me. After hearing this, I realized that since they had already visited me, moving into a nursing home might not be as bad as I had thought. I had no notion that Tyler was lying to get me off his back.
Every day in the nursing home felt like an eternity. Although the nurses were courteous and the other patients were pleasant to converse with, I wished to be with family rather than in a place full of strangers. Without a phone or iPad, I wrote Tyler letters every day, asking him to come visit me or inquire about their well-being. I received neither a response nor a visit. After two years in the nursing home, I lost hope that anyone would come.
I pleaded every night, “Please, take me home,” but after two years, I made an effort to remind myself that I should not hold out hope any longer.But one day I was shocked to hear from my nurse that a man in his forties was waiting for me at the counter. “Has my son visited at last?” I said as I quickly picked up my walker and headed for the front. I thought it was Tyler when I got there, so I smiled, but it was actually a different man I had not seen in months. He yelled, “Mom!” and gave me a tight embrace.
“Ron? Is this you, Ron? I asked him. “This is me, Mom. How’ve you been? I apologize for taking so long to visit you. “I just got back from Europe and went straight to your house,” he explained.”My house?” Did you see Tyler and Macy there? “They put me in this nursing home a few years ago, and I haven’t seen them since,” I admitted. Ron looked at me sadly and motioned for me to sit.
We sat in front of one other on the couch, and he began to tell me about what had transpired during the two years I had been in the nursing home. “Mom, I am sorry you had to hear this from me. I assumed you already know,” he began to say. Tyler and Macy died in a house fire last year. I just discovered out when I went to your house and noticed it was abandoned. I went to check the mailbox to see if I could gain any information on where you were, and I found all of your unread letters,” he added.I couldn’t believe what Ron was saying.
Hearing about my son’s death broke my heart, even though I was angry with him for what he had done to me. I spent the entire day in grieving for him and Macy, my daughter-in-law. Ron stayed by my side the entire time I was crying. He comforted me and kept quiet until I was comfortable speaking again. I once took a boy named Ron into my house. As kids, he and Tyler were best friends and could not be separated.
Unlike Tyler, who had everything he wanted, Ron lived in poverty and was raised by his grandmother after his parents passed away. I treated him as if he were my own kid, feeding and clothing him until he left to attend college in Europe. Ron never returned to the United States after landing a high-paying job in Europe, and we eventually lost touch. I never expected to see him again until he showed up at the nursing home. “Mom,” he murmured once I had calmed down.
“I do not believe you belong in this care home. Will you please let me take you home? “I would love to take care of you,” he stated. I could not help but cry once more. My own son had kicked me out of my house, and in front of me stood a man who wanted to take me in despite the fact that I was not his blood kin. “Would you really do that for me?” “Of course, mother. You don’t even need to ask that. You raised me to be the person I am today. Ron hugged me and whispered, “Without you, I am nothing.”
That evening, Ron assisted Jude in packing her belongings and welcomed her into his freshly purchased home. There, Jude realized he had a large family, who greeted him enthusiastically. She lived her final years in happiness, surrounded by people who genuinely loved and cared for her.