Wednesday, July 11, 2012

St. John's

   Eleanor's brother Howard, and sister Lorraine are both at the Red Wing Manor in Red Wing, Minnesota. Lorraine is in the Alzheimer unit, and Howard is in physical therapy after several falls put him in the hospital. The Manor is located in the old St. John's Hospital, where Eleanor went through nursing training, and gave birth to me. It has been a central location in her life.Her sister Lorraine also trained as a nurse there, and her sister Florence worked there for years
   Before she was to report for training as a Army nurse in 1942, she went to visit her grandfather Nelson in Lake City, MN. When she arrived, she found him on the floor of his home. He had been having difficulty living at home,and Eleanor was worried that he was so frail that she couldn't leave him alone. Eventually she found a doctor friend who would admit him to St. Mary's in Red Wing. She left the next day for nurses training in Iowa, and was notified the following day that her grandfather had died at St. John's. She was comforted by the fact that he did not die alone in his house.Now with Howard and Lorraine both at the Manor, she feels a sense of concern but also comfort that they are in a place familiar to her and her family.