Transcript from conversation at Mercy Hospital on January 9th, 2006:
The principle individuals are:
Suzie Harms (now Suzie Davis)...she is a Mercy Hospital Social Worker
Mary Stenlund...Grandma
John Wilson...Me
John Wilson Jr...my son
Paula Walzer...she is the DHS agent who you hear tormenting my Grandmother.
*****************************************************************************************************
Harms: We’re going to have to ask you guys to leave the room, okay? And then you guys can come back in once Paula’s done, okay?
Stenlund: I’m not going to talk to you.
Harms: What honey?
Stenlund: I’m not going to talk to you in case you didn’t know it.
Harms: Okay. That’s okay.
Stenlund: Why the hell are you bothering me?
Harms: I’m not honey.
Stenlund: Oh, don’t honey me.
Harms: Okay, I know…<now to Wilson Sr.> Can you guys leave for a few minutes?
Wilson Sr.: Well, she doesn’t want us to leave.
Stenlund: No, I don’t want them to leave.
Wilson Sr.: Our attorney…
Harms: But we’re asking…It’s our policy.
Wilson Sr.: Well, I mean, she’s a patient, and plus I have a power of attorney, my mother has a power of attorney, uh, to make decisions for her essentially…
Harms: But she’s able…
Wilson Sr.: We’ll respecting her wishes because she said she doesn’t want us to go.
Harms: Right.
Wilson Sr.: If she wants us to go we’ll leave…that’s no problem. That’s what the attorney told us, not to leave…So…
Harms: You talked to your attorney?
Wilson Sr: Just about 5 minutes ago, he [John Jr.] was on the phone with them, and plus…
Harms: Do you want me to call him?
Wilson Sr: She doesn’t want to talk to them…sure, go ahead.
Harms: What’s the number?
Wilson Sr: <to Wilson Jr.> Give her the number.
Stenlund: Why don’t you people mind your own damn business?
<background noise, people talking>
Wilson Jr: The attorney’s number is: 244-5575.
<background noise, people talking, Wilson Sr. on telephone>
Stenlund: Doesn’t a person have any rights at all?
Wilson Jr: 244-5575
Guard: Is there a person’s name or?
Wilson Jr: Um…
Guard: Sporer Law?
Wilson Sr: Sporer and…Sporer Law firm.
Guard: Sporer Law Firm?
Stenlund: Hospital full of God Damn idiots. <short pause> Why do I…Johnny why do I have to put up with this shit?
Wilson Jr: You don’t, it’s your right not to.
Stenlund: Well then, get them the hell out of here!
Walzer (in background): I just need to be able to talk to her without them for you know, 20 minutes.
Stenlund: I’d like to see them, have them in the loony bin!
Wilson Jr: Remember great-grandma, it is you’re right not to speak at all.
Stenlund: Huh?
Wilson Jr: Remember, it’s you’re right not to speak at all.
Wilson Sr: They’re going to try to use anything you’re saying and she’s saying right now.
Stenlund: I ain’t going to talk to those bastards…they’re barking up the wrong tree…killing dogs and stuff…Did they kill any more dogs?
Nurse’s Aid: Hi honey.
Stenlund: Don’t honey me, I’m not any honey of yours.
Wilson Sr: She’s not…she’s the nurse.
Nurse’s Aid: I’m your aid tonight…my name’s Brittany, I’m just checking on <?> boxes, seeing how full they are.
Stenlund: They’re going to be pretty damn full.
<background noise, people talking>
Stenlund: Big business.
Walzer: …He’s been in trial all day…Okay, that’s not an attorney.
Wilson Jr: Well she is an attorney (referring to Micael Stevenson).
Walzer: Well…
Wilson Sr: Well, it doesn’t matter…
Walzer: Well, I’m sorry but we’re asking you to leave, and that’s why security is here.
Stenlund: They ain’t going to question me ‘cause I don’t have to…
Walzer: All I need is…
Wilson Sr: Ask her if she wants me to leave.
Walzer: Well, it’s not up to her.
Stenlund: The hell it isn’t up to her!
Walzer: You know…
Stenlund: It’s my rights that you’re talking about!
Walzer: It doesn’t even matter that you have power of attorney…It doesn’t matter.
<Walzer and Stenlund speaking over each other>
Walzer: ...(mockingly) you don’t have to talk to them, you don’t have to listen, you don’t have to answer questions…
Wilson Sr: I won’t say a word, go ahead.
Walzer: But you didn’t allow me to do that, I tried that already.
Wilson: You were badgering her, and she told you…
Walzer: No.
Wilson Sr: …she didn’t want to talk to you, and you continued.
Walzer: No…but she’s saying that because that’s what you’re…
Wilson Sr: You don’t respect her wishes and you…
Walzer: That’s what you’re saying…
Wilson Sr: I’m just looking out for her wishes, that’s all.
Walzer: Well…you’re looking out for her wishes?
Wilson Sr: Mmhmm.
Walzer: Well, I think that somebody has not been looking out for her wishes or we wouldn’t be here…So, I need you to leave…
Stenlund: <to Walzer> You sure as hell haven’t been.
Walzer: And here’s the number back because he’s been in court all day.
Stenlund: My God, isn’t your life your own? …Got to have a bunch of buzzards around?
Wilson Sr: <on phone with attorney’s office in background>
Stenlund: They’ve harassed me for a long time…Don’t let them do it Johnny…
Wilson Sr: <on phone with attorney’s office in background> …My son did…the gal from DHS is up here, and she’s insisting that we leave and she went and got security and they said they were calling the office, and apparently tried to call Ted…Yeah I know that…etc.
Stenlund: <To Walzer> Harass an old lady…Don’t you have anything better to do?
<Wilson Sr. continues on the phone>
Stenlund: <sarcastically, to other staff peeking in the door> …Take a good look.
<Wilson Sr. continues on the phone>
Stenlund: They’ve harassed me…these assholes…for long enough.
Walzer: Can I speak to her?
<Wilson Sr. continues on phone>
Walzer: John.
Stenlund: Is it a crime to get old?
<Wilson Sr. continues on phone>
Walzer: Can I speak to her?
Wilson Sr: <finishing phone call> okay, thanks, bye.
Walzer: Now that really didn’t accomplish anything…what I need your attorney’s office to understand is why we asked you to leave the room.
Wilson Sr: Why have you asked me to leave the room?
Walzer: So that I can talk to her for about twenty minutes without…
Stenlund: I don’t have to talk to you for five minutes!
<Walzer, Wilson, Stenlund, all talking over each other>
Wilson Sr: Go ahead, she’ll…
Stenlund: I don’t have to hear anything you say...you can’t tell me anything bitch!
Guard: …That sound good?
Walzer: What?
Guard: I’ll be in the room with you, and you ask the questions, and if he says anything, we’ll escort him out of the room.
Walzer: Well…
Stenlund: I won’t answer…Don’t you [Wilson] answer any questions.
<Walzer, guard, and others talking over each other>
Wilson: Okay, that’s fine.
Walzer: Because, really I’m supposed to be able to talk to her by herself…<dissatisfied sigh>
<people talking in background>
Stenlund: You aren’t going to tell me anything. I don’t want to hear anything you have to say.
Walzer: Okay. But can you look at me?
Stenlund: No, I won’t even look at you…
Walzer: Okay.
Stenlund: I’ve seen too damn much of you.
Walzer: Okay…But you know what Mary my other two visits have not been this way. Linda has allowed me to visit with you, and she’s left the room when I’ve asked her to.
Stenlund: Yes she sure has.
Walzer: Yes she has, and she has cooperated with me and allowed me to talk to you…
Stenlund: …And then you turn around and kick her in the ass!
Walzer: How did I do that?
Stenlund: Well sitting here like this is how you did part of it…There’s nothing wrong with me…I understand you’re trying to make something out of nothing!
Walzer: Okay…just listen.
Stenlund: I don’t want to listen to you.
Walzer: Okay, you can close your eyes…
Stenlund: I ain’t going to close my eyes, I’m just don’t want to listen to you.
Walzer: Okay…the other days when we visited, you’ve been more than willing to answer my questions. And…
Stenlund: No I haven’t been.
Walzer: But you have answered my questions.
Stenlund: I haven’t been willing to answer your questions…I’m sick and tired of them.
Walzer: Okay.
Stenlund: You leave me alone…
Walzer: Well, I know…
Stenlund: I said leave me alone, I don’t have to put up with that.
Walzer: Okay.
Stenlund: You’ve harassed me and harassed me, and I’m sick and tired of it!
Walzer: But Mary, tell me how I’ve harassed you.
Stenlund: Being here for openers.
Walzer: Okay…But this situation didn’t have to happen, because the other day when I talked to Linda, she left. But your grandson refused to leave.
Stenlund: Well don’t worry about it, I don’t want him to leave.
Walzer: That, that’s what caused this to happen…
Stenlund: I don’t want my grandson to leave.
Walzer: That’s why the security guards are with me now.
Stenlund: I don’t want my grandson to leave…Now think up a good one!
Walzer: I’m not trying to think up a good one.
Stenlund: You looked like you were.
Walzer: Well, I was trying to explain to you, why it is that we’re involved. You know you were bought into the hospital, and you were pretty sick, and I, and we’re already talked about the fact that the doctors thought you were going to die…Right?
Stenlund: <coughs> You’ll probably wish that I did!
Walzer: No, no. So the only reason that we got involved, is because there were some folks that had concerns about the fact that you came in pretty sick, and the way the house looked when they showed up to bring you into the hospital…Okay?
Stenlund: Well my God, did you ever see your own house?
Walzer: Well, I have seen my house and it doesn’t look anything like the one you live in.
Stenlund: Well, I’ve never lived in a bad house.
Walzer: Well, and the reason I wanted to sit down and kind of show you the pictures and ask you about it…
Stenlund: I don’t want to look at your fuckin’ pictures.
Walzer: Okay, that’s fine…that’s fine…But the conditions of your room…have you…when’s the last time you…
Stenlund: Oh, bullshit…
Stenlund: “my room” “my room” “my room”…I’d like to see your room.
Walzer: Well, I can’t show you that because I don’t have pictures of it.
Stenlund: Of course you don’t.
Walzer: No I don’t.
Stenlund: <sarcastically> You’re such a “nice” little gal, you don’t have to do that do you?
Walzer: There were many things in your house that we’re concerned by…The mice, and the cockroaches…
Stenlund: <sarcastically> Oh, did you…did you catch a mouse?
Walzer: No we didn’t catch them, but we, we saw the mouse droppings.
Stenlund: <sarcastically> Oh, isn’t that nice…
Walzer: Yeah.
Stenlund: <sarcastically> Well did, you load them up and take them with you?
Walzer: Nope, didn’t take them with us.
Stenlund: <sarcastically> Oh.
Walzer: Left them there.
Stenlund: <sarcastically> I’m surprised…
Walzer: Yeah.
Stenlund: <sarcastically> I thought maybe you’d have a use for them!
Walzer: Nope, I don’t have a use for them…I wish you didn’t have to live with them.
Stenlund: I don’t have to.
Walzer: But they’re there.
Stenlund: Don’t tell me how I have to live…You don’t have anything to say about it!
Walzer: Well, you know, this um…When the doctors make their recommendations about where you need to go when you leave, we’ll continue to be as involved as we have been now.
Stenlund: Well, where I go, is none of your damn business!
Walzer: Well, the court has the ability to say that you can’t go back home. And, they will probably do that based on these pictures.
Stenlund: I can’t go back home? …Well, I can go some place else.
Walzer: Well where would you like to go?
Stenlund: Well that’s none of your business.
Walzer: But I could help you get there.
Stenlund: No, you can’t.
Walzer: I can’t? Okay. Do you have another family member that you’d like to live with?
Stenlund: Oh, you’re terrible.
Walzer: How, how is that terrible? How is that a terrible question?
Stenlund: What are you trying to do to my daughter?
Walzer: I’m not trying to do anything to your daughter.
Stenlund: You are trying to do something to my daughter.
Walzer: No I’m not at all. I, I am not at all concerned about Linda.
Stenlund: Well you sure as hell aren’t concerned about me.
Walzer: Well, I was…And I still am…I know that you don’t believe that.
Stenlund: No, I sure don’t.
Walzer: And I, you know, let’s talk about the dog a little bit because I…
Stenlund: …the dog.
Walzer: Well, a little bit ago, you asked me if I had killed any dogs lately.
Stenlund: Yeah…
Walzer: Now, I didn’t do anything with your dog.
Stenlund: …He ain’t my dog.
Walzer: Is it Linda’s dog?
Stenlund: Well, it’s not my dog.
Walzer: It’s not your dog?
Stenlund: No.
Walzer: It was the police officers on Friday night that said your dog had to go, and called animal control…
<Walzer and Stenlund talking over each other briefly>
Stenlund: <sarcastically> well, they’re highly out of line to mess with my dog.
Walzer: It is your dog?
Stenlund: No it isn’t my dog.
Walzer: It’s not your dog.
Stenlund: No it isn’t my dog.
Walzer: Okay, okay…But the dog was leashed up, and couldn’t get to food and water and so they called animal control. My supervisor and I didn’t have anything to do with that.
Stenlund: <sarcastically> Wasn’t that great of them to do that?....<Walzer interrupts>
Walzer: The only thing that we did was on Friday I went before the Judge and got an order to allow me in…Okay? And there’s um, a test called a Neuro uh, Neuro Psych test that’s going to be done while you’re here.
Stenlund: Oh, not on me you aren’t!
Walzer: Well, the doctors do it, I don’t do it…I have nothing to do with it.
Stenlund: I don’t want any tests thank you.
Walzer: No test?
Stenlund: You have a few tests?
Walzer: I don’t like tests either.
Stenlund: Well then why do you want to pass them around to me?
Walzer: Well, because they want to figure out if um…if you are understanding everything that’s going on around you.
Stenlund: Well madam, I do!
Walzer: Well, I know you’re pretty pissed at me, so I think you understand that part…
Stenlund: You bet I am…
Walzer: I definitely think you understand that part…But regardless uh…how…
Stenlund: I think your noses should be some place besides other people’s business!
Walzer: Well…the condition you came in, it it…
Stenlund: Condition I came in?
Walzer: Mmhmm…
Stenlund: What was that?
Walzer: Well, um…you weren’t very clean when you came in…you had been sick…Right? And, you had vomit all over you face, and all down your side, and you’d been lying in feces…and you weren’t very clean…
Stenlund: <sarcastically> Well, they say a hell of a lot!
Walzer: Yeah, they were concerned about you.
Stenlund: <sarcastically> Oh really?
Walzer: Yeah.
Stenlund: <sarcastically> Oh really concerned?
Walzer: Mmhmm…so they called us.
Stenlund: Shall I say bullshit!?!
Walzer: Well, yeah…you can certainly say anything that you want to say to me.
Stenlund: I think you people stick your noses in where they don’t belong.
Walzer: Well, people certainly think that sometimes.
Stenlund: I think it now.
Walzer: Yeah, that’s okay…because you know, uh, every person has a different opinion. And my opinion about that is that I stuck my nose in because we have right…reason to be concerned about you.
Stenlund: Why would you be concerned about me?
Walzer: Well, one of the things is, if you don’t get your swallow back, if that doesn’t come back within the next couple of days…we talked…
Stenlund: You going to
Walzer: No, we talked about the fact that you would either need to have an NG tube for feeding, or a tube that they put into your stomach.
Stenlund: Ohh, you’re just trying to invent one.
Walzer: Nope, I’m not a doctor. The doctors would decide that. But on Friday they said if you didn’t get your swallow back that would have to happen. And if you had either one of those two things, you could not go back into conditions like this. Because it wouldn’t be sanitary for you…Because the one is surgically put in, and, and uh, comes out your stomach and there’s tubes and stuff on the outside. And the other one actually requires you to have a skilled nursing facility that you would go to…But they’re hoping that you get it back. They’re hoping that that comes back for you. So, for medical reasons, we have reason to be concerned about can you go back here or not…And if you go back home, who takes care of you. And now you know, initially and even the day I talked to John on the phone, there was the possibility that Linda could be that person, but not after I’ve seen the house…not since I’ve seen the house. There’s no way that that would be able to happen.
Stenlund: Well, wherever I go, my daughter goes right along with me!
Walzer: Well, that’s fine…you know, your daughter can be…your daughter is always here. In fact she, I think the staff told me she hadn’t even left since Thursday. And nobody says that’s not a good thing…
Stenlund: <sarcastically> I thought that’s what you were telling me…
Walzer: No, no…
Stenlund: <sarcastically> Oh, I thought it was…
Walzer: No.
Stenlund: <sarcastically> How could I be so stupid?
Walzer: Linda’s been here, each time I’ve visited…I’m not saying that you can’t see Linda, visit Linda…
Stenlund: Oh, you better believe I’m going to see and visit my daughter…
Walzer: Yeah…
Stenlund: You had better believe that!
Walzer: Yeah, I know how upset you get when she leaves…the staff has already told me that…
Stenlund: You always got “noses” around that shouldn’t be around…
Walzer: You get very afraid when she is not here…I know that…
Stenlund: Well wouldn’t you…what the hell, wouldn’t you?
Walzer: Yeah. Because you don’t know what’s going on and you don’t know who to trust, and you don’t know what the doctors are thinking…
Stenlund: I, I don’t trust any of them…
Walzer: I know…I knew that about you within the first five minutes I talked to you…I knew that…I knew that…and I won’t show you the pictures, and I won’t ask you pictures about them, I can do that with Linda, if she’ll answer my questions and she doesn’t have to…she doesn’t have to because we’ve already seen the conditions…and they’re pretty self-explanatory. I don’t need, I don’t need any help figuring out what hasn’t happened in the house…I can tell that. But the biggest question is going to be, when are you going to be well enough to leave, and where you go. Okay? And whether you use the attorney your grandson has been calling, or, or a different attorney, you have the right to have an attorney.
Stenlund: Oh, you bet I’ll have one!
Walzer: …So that they can be explaining to you what’s going on…
Stenlund: I’ll have one of the best!
Walzer: Yeah, and that’s okay…that’s okay…And not everybody agrees when we get involved that, that what we’re doing is the right thing and that’s why it’s not our final decision. If, if the doctor says he wants you to go to a skilled nursing facility and, and you don’t want to go, um, and I go to the Judge and I say…because I’ve already explained this to you guys, if I go to the Judge and I say, “she really needs to be there”…then the Judge is the person who makes that final decision. And it’s going to be based on, what kind of care do you need, and how much can you do to take care of yourself. And I try and approach, whether its you, or, or anybody to make sure that you’re getting the care that you need...Okay? Because, when you came in, you had a reddened area, that had feces in it…and it was the starting of a bedsore…and now that you’ve been laying on your back that, that is a bigger bedsore. And so, one of the things that we need to look at is, that, that’s the area where they put cream on you…are they putting cream on your back side? …They’re not? There’s an area where they said they’ve been putting cream to help that heal…So that’s care you’re going to need too…besides dressing and bathing, and hair care, and all of those things…
Stenlund: <sarcastically> How ‘bout I just die?
Walzer: Well, nobody wants that to happen…
Stenlund: You could have fooled me…
Walzer: Oh, that’s not what we want to have happen…We just want to make sure that you get what you need, and what you deserve, which is good care…Okay? And to figure out where is that going to be? But I can tell you that I don’t think…I, I can tell with complete certainty that it wouldn’t be Linda…it wouldn’t be Linda. Okay?
Stenlund: You think you’re going to take my daughter away from me?
Walzer: …No, that’s not what I said…It just means that she is not the person who should be the primary person responsible for getting you clean, and taking care of you every day. Okay? We need that to be somebody who is, it’s going to get done, and it’s going to be done well…Okay? So that is the only reason I came to reason I came to visit with you is because I knew you guys all knew we had been in the house Friday night. Do you want me to explain that to you at all? Or, do you not care? It was real simple, um, I had tried to see it twice on Thursday, and on Friday afternoon I went before the Judge and got an order, and the police were called ahead of me to know that I have the order, and they were waiting outside the house when I got there…
Stenlund: <sarcastically> That was real nice of them…
Walzer: …And, we knocked on the door, I don’t know how many times, and when there was no answer, then the locksmith opened the door for us, the outside door, and the door that goes down to the basement, so that we could see the entire house. We took our pictures, and we left. And at the point that I left, animal control had pulled up to get the dog…And not, it was that simple…Okay? And then, the officers locked the house back up and left…I wasn’t even there when they left.
Stenlund: <sarcastically> That was big of them wasn’t it?
Walzer: Yeah.
Stenlund: <sarcastically> Lock the doors and leave…
Walzer: Well, they had to make sure that it was locked…it was locked when we got there, so they needed to make sure it was locked when we left…
Stenlund: Well it should…very well should be!
Walzer: That’s really all I need to talk with you about…do you have any questions for me, besides being angry about this whole thing?
Stenlund: I am real angry!
Walzer: I know you are…
Stenlund: It makes me damn mad!
Walzer: And that’s okay. I told you, I told you early on when you told me how clear you were about wanting to go home, that you can say anything you want to me and I, I am not going to take it personally. You can be mad about what happened. I did what I did, because I believe that is was the, the best thing for you. And I had told the hospital staff before you would go anywhere, we had to be allowed to see the house…and I told your family that too…That you were not leaving the hospital until we had an opportunity to see your house. Because we had been told what it was like, but we hadn’t seen it for ourselves…
Stenlund: <sarcastically> I’ll bet you’ve been told.
Walzer: Yeah, we had been told what we could expect but we hadn’t seen it, and we didn’t want just go on what they said it was. And it looked like in the mean time, between the time Gregg first asked to go in, and when I got my court order, that Linda or John had been cleaning…we could tell that…but it was still pretty bad…So, that’s where we’re at…Okay?
Stenlund: Why are you trying to dispose of me?
Walzer: Nobody’s disposing of you…nobody’s disposing of you…
Stenlund: Sounds to me that’s what you’ve got in mind…taking my daughter away from me…
Walzer: No, nobody says that has to happen…
Stenlund: It better not, I’ll tell you that…
Walzer: Nobody says that…
Stenlund: …Because you’ll have a real bear on your ass!
Walzer: Well I can see that…And I think um, it was that first day too we talked about how um, hard-headed and stubborn you could be.
Stenlund: Oh, yes I can…so can you!
Walzer: Yeah, yeah, yep I know that…
Stenlund: You better believe that you don’t want to tell me what’s what or I’ll kill ya.
Walzer: Yeah, you and Linda and I talked about that already. So, that’s what I did, and why I did it. And if you don’t want to see these pictures, and answer questions that’s fine…
Stenlund: Why would I want to see your pictures?
Walzer: Well, because I don’t think that maybe you’ve seen all of the house lately, and maybe how out of control it’s gotten…that’s my guess…my guess is that you didn’t really know how bad it was getting around ya. Pretty hard to when you’re in bed right? And you’re sick and you’re not feeling well…
Stenlund: A little hard…
Walzer: Yeah, I know…
Stenlund: That’s my daughter, and I love my daughter…
Walzer: I know you do…so I’m going to leave, because anymore questions, or any more to say…I just needed you to understand what was going on and why…Okay? All right? So I will keep talking to the hospital staff, and see what the recommendations are going to be and um, I’m going to assume it’s going to be skilled 24 hour nursing care, because that’s what they’ve said all along. So, if that’s the direction that things are headed, then the next step is that Suzy makes…talks to Linda…she has already given Linda a list of the places that provide skilled nursing care. And Linda, and John and whoever can take a look at them and let us know which one they like…
Stenlund: What if I don’t like them?
Walzer: I don’t know, I don’t know…that’s why you’re going to have, that’s why Linda and John…
Stenlund: You didn’t think of that…
Walzer: Yeah I have, it’s just that the only way I could consider you, is to count on your family to look at them, because you can’t get up out of bed and go look at them…
Stenlund: <sarcastically> No I can’t.
Walzer: Well can you?
Stenlund: Don’t bank on it!
Walzer: They [hospital staff] told me that you really can’t get up without help…
Stenlund: Oh?
Walzer: John and Linda can go look at places and let us know what they think and then I already explained that Medicare…since you’re coming out of the hospital…would pay for your care there…But I still need Linda to do that application that I dropped off here, for Medicaid…Okay? …So…
Stenlund: Don’t pick on my daughter anymore…
Walzer: I’m not picking on your daughter…Okay? I’m not, I’m not. I’m not…So, um, Suzy can talk to them and see what places they like, maybe they already know of places, maybe they know somebody who’s been in them, maybe they heard horrible things about a place and they don’t want you to go there…they just need to tell us that…Okay? And then, Suzy calls the place that they like, has them come out, and meet with you, and review your medical record, and then they say if they can take you or not…Okay? So, Linda has that list...
Stenlund: In other words, I go to a “place” whether I want to or not!
Walzer: Well, certainly, if the doctors are saying that is what you need to do.
Stenlund: How would they know what I need?
Walzer: Well, they would know what you need by the fact that they think that the pneumonia you came in with was aspiration pneumonia…which means that when you put food and water into your mouth, it all went into your lungs. When a person can’t swallow, and it can’t go down, then it goes into your lungs…and that’s what they think you had when you came in…Okay? So we have to count on the medical doctor to know the medical piece of things…And who can give you insulin and all those things…We have to count on the doctors for that…Because I’m not a doctor…That’s what we count on doctors and nurses for. And you can certainly always question what a doctor has to say, but then you have decisions you have to make about are you going to do what the doctor says you need to do or not? And because…
Stenlund: That doesn’t mean I will…
Walzer: Well I know, but because you are not able to take care of yourself, and you’re dependent on somebody else to do that right now, if you say no, then that’s what would give me the ability to go into court and get an order to where a Judge would say that you needed to go…Okay? Because I know you don’t want to hear that, but I also know that you have to have good care, you have to have somebody taking care of you, and I’m not convinced by looking at these, that Linda can do that.
Stenlund: Oh, Linda can do it.
Walzer: What happened then? What happened then?
Stenlund: I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about.
Walzer: Well, why weren’t you cleaned up when you came in? And why was your bed and the bedding in such bad shape when you came in?
Stenlund: Well, I don’t know that it was.
Walzer: It was…I have pictures to show ya…but I won’t…because I don’t want to upset you…Okay? So, um, I’ll go back and I’ll talk to Suzy, and I know that the doctor hasn’t been in yet today. So, we’ll just kind of see what they recommend…they were waiting to see if you get your swallow back. Linda can certainly call me with any questions she has, I can’t answer questions about the dog, because I didn’t do the dog…I didn’t take him…So, it sounds to me if you know how much it costs to get him back, he must already be back…I don’t know…Okay? And your attorney can call, and ask any questions, see the pictures…talk to us…anything he wants to know…
Stenlund: Well, I do have an attorney…a good one.
Walzer: Well good, good…Okay? And, he can certainly look at the pictures and talk to us, if that’s what’s you want him to do…and we can explain to him why we did what we did so far…Okay? I don’t have any problem with that, I deal with attorneys every day, all day long…Okay? I don’t know what else…so, we’ll leave…the security guard and I can get out of your way, and you can go back to sitting with your grandsons…Okay?
Stenlund: It’s too bad when you get old, people try to railroad you.
Walzer: Well, I’m not trying to railroad ya…
Stenlund: I said it’s too bad that that’s what happens…
Walzer: It is too bad, and you know what I’ve learned in doing my job for as long as I have, that sometimes, uh, an elderly person, or a person that gets old, they just don’t get the care that they need…and people take advantage of them…and I’m not saying that’s what your daughter’s doing, but I meet people every day who are taken advantage of by their families…Okay? So, I’m surprised by nothing that I see any more…
Stenlund: My daughter loves me…
Walzer: I know your daughter loves you, that is very apparent, I know that, I knew that the minute I met you guys, Okay? But sometimes…huh?
Stenlund: Nobody takes better care of me than my Linda.
Walzer: Well, I know…but I’m, I’m hoping that you don’t get into the condition that you were when you came in…that’s what I’m hoping for…Okay? And for whatever reason uh, you weren’t cleaned up, and, and the conditions of the house got so bad, I don’t know what caused that to happen...And, that doesn’t really matter to me…The only thing that matters to me is that, when you leave hear, you go to a place where you get great care…Okay? And we’ll see how much of your ability you can get back…because you’ll have occupational therapy, and physical therapy to try and get your strength back. And, we’ll see if your swallowing comes back. Okay? I don’t know what medically will happen for you until we get you the services you need. Okay? Sometimes people go into skilled care and go home from there, and sometimes they don’t…Okay? All right? So, I’m sorry it started out so badly, but thanks for talking to me…Okay? And I’ll probably be out tomorrow to see ya. So if you have any questions you can either have Linda call me in the mean time, or John call me, or you can call me…Okay? All right? Thank you…Thanks guys…
<Walzer Leaves>
A final note:
This utter lack of respect for my Grandmother is abhorrent to say the least. Not only do they ignore her demands to be left alone, but they talk to her in the most insulting and patronizing way possible. I've heard people treat their pets with more dignity.
The segment of this where Grandma and Walzer are discussing the dog, was quoted out of context by Walzer in a subsequent court order. In the order, Walzer makes it sound as if Grandma can't decide whether or not the dog is hers...naturally, she leaves out the part about how Grandma repeatedly asked her to leave her alone! Now I ask you to decide for yourself. |