This is a smpathetic accounting of how the "system" not only failed the author's elderly parents, but compounded the already mammoth challenges faced by the family. The story is told as a warning to the growing numbers of us who are now facing, or soon will be, the challenge of trading places with the parents who raised us. In record numbers, baby boomers are faced with the question of how to best care for their aging parents, a task that is already fraught with impossible decisions and no easy answers.
This is one woman's story of the ways in which that very difficult task became a nightmare. The first chapter (which at this point, I think, is the only one posted so far) tugs at the reader's heart, as the basis for the story to follow hints at far more heart rending events to come. Before the end of the first chapter, you'll find yourself rooting for "mom and dad" to rally and hoping that you are wrong about where this story seems to be headed.
This is a must read warning for anyone who expects to find themselves caring for aging parents and dealing with over-worked and understaffed institutions who seem to blithely make uninformed decisions with devastating effects.
I have added the following grammatical edits at the bequest of the author, but they are, by and large, typos and words left out in the emotional telling of the story. These suggestions are simply offered as a help to the author and in no way detract from the value of the story.
In the third paragraph, a couple of typos..."I contacted the hospital social worder worker to get a clearer pickture picture... "
In the fourth paragraph, another typo....."Mom had falled fallen in the dining room"
"how to contact her children...my sister Marlene and I." and me."
The following sentence needs a comma after as fate would have it..."but as fate would have it, the emergency happened..."
A missing word - "Max, ..., a solid 120 pound mass"
This sentence could be clearer. Maybe like this? "Before anyone could enter the house, it would be necessary for Daddy to secure Max. He finally succeeded in grabbing Max's collar and managed to drag him off to a bedroom."
These two sentences could be cleaned up a bit. Perhaps like this: The paramedics quickly checked Mom's vital signs and whisked her off to the hospital. The police had made the referral to social services after witnessing the confusion and speaking with my dad."
Same thing here. Possibly like this: "...I called to speak to someone at social services. I was dismayed to learn that they did not view the situation as an emergency, based simply on the fact that once dad had safely secured the dog, he was able to convince the social worker that he needed no help."
"have or over another human being!"
"...and help helped to calm me."
""The dog will bit! bite!"
"Scanning the neighborhood, the only lights light I saw was in a duplex across the street."
The following sentence isn't really relevant to the story and could be left out without changing the story. It seems out of place and makes the reader stop and wonder why it is mentioned. "The pastor was in the midst of a shower just then, so I was invited in to wait.
When Andy, the minister, came out from his shower...." Perhaps you could say somethng like this: "Summoned by his wife, the pastor named Andy, told me that he had seen the ambulance earlier, but hadn't heart heard what happened..."
"...he offered to go across the street and try to help me gain..." - and try is unnecessary. Leaving it out makes the sentence flow better.
"...I had spoken with previous previously..."
hopefull is misspelled - it should be 'hopeful'
I'm sure this is a typo...glabbergasted - should be 'flabbergasted"
deperation - should be desperation - another type, I'm sure
"...of relief and anguished anguish..."
Judy, after you've had a chance to make the corrections, shoot me an email and I'll go back and re-rate.
Great job! I'm so glad you're writing this much-needed story.
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