Dan
This is another character sketch of one of the people at the nursing home where my Mom lives. I did earlier sketches of Vivian and of Harold.
Dan is a rather short man. When sitting in his wheelchair in the nursing home dining room, it seems like his head is barely above the edge of the table. However, he always sits leaning forward and way over to his left side. So, perhaps, that is part of the reason he appears to be so short.
Dan has a round head that looks disproportionately large for the rest of him. He also has a large nose and large ears. His eyes, however, are very small. One might even say they were beady looking. He wears little, round, gold, wire-rimmed glasses. His hair is just a fringe of dingy gray strands above his ears and around the lower back part of his head. His bald head has several large brown liver spots which are quite noticeable. His hands are slender and delicate looking, held together with paper thin bluish skin. They too are covered in liver spots.
I've never once seen Dan smile. It isn't that he appears to be particularly sad or angry either. He just is very docile and placid. He seems content with life and just keeps taking each next day as it comes for what it is. He is calm and quiet and keeps to himself. He doesn't make eye contact with the others. He speaks rarely, although he is able to speak. He answers the questions of the aides when they speak to him, but he doesn't initiate conversations on his own.
"I can feed myself," he says in a matter-of-fact tone when one of the aides tries to assist him. He can feed himself too, but he often moves very slowly when doing it. It is almost as if his life and everything in it is in slow motion. It can't be hurried. He has two speeds, one slow and one stopped, as the old joke goes. He sometimes will fall asleep in the middle of his meal. He leans so far to the left that his head rests on the arm of his wheelchair, and he will doze for a bit in between bites.
He generally wears a checked or plaid, dark- colored cotton shirt with long sleeves. The cuffs of his sleeves will sometimes drag through the food on his plate as he reaches for his glass of water. The water has been thickened with a lemon flavored substance to make it easier for him to swallow and lessen the likelihood of choking. The substance gives it a texture that makes it seem more like a thick glue rather than a glass of ice water. Many of the residents drink liquids that have been thickened in this manner because they have swallowing difficulties.
Most of the time when I have visited, Dan will eat about half of his meal and then sigh. He is done. He wants no more. It is as if it is just too much of an effort to eat. It tires him out. Halfway through, and he is exhausted from the effort. He takes the cloth napkin from his lap and leaves it neatly next to his plate. Then he slowly pushes away from the table in his wheelchair using his feet to maneuver his way out of the dining room, into the long hallway of the facility, and off on his journey back to his room for an afternoon nap.
Dan
Dan has a round head that looks disproportionately large for the rest of him. He also has a large nose and large ears. His eyes, however, are very small. One might even say they were beady looking. He wears little, round, gold, wire-rimmed glasses. His hair is just a fringe of dingy gray strands above his ears and around the lower back part of his head. His bald head has several large brown liver spots which are quite noticeable. His hands are slender and delicate looking, held together with paper thin bluish skin. They too are covered in liver spots.
I've never once seen Dan smile. It isn't that he appears to be particularly sad or angry either. He just is very docile and placid. He seems content with life and just keeps taking each next day as it comes for what it is. He is calm and quiet and keeps to himself. He doesn't make eye contact with the others. He speaks rarely, although he is able to speak. He answers the questions of the aides when they speak to him, but he doesn't initiate conversations on his own.
"I can feed myself," he says in a matter-of-fact tone when one of the aides tries to assist him. He can feed himself too, but he often moves very slowly when doing it. It is almost as if his life and everything in it is in slow motion. It can't be hurried. He has two speeds, one slow and one stopped, as the old joke goes. He sometimes will fall asleep in the middle of his meal. He leans so far to the left that his head rests on the arm of his wheelchair, and he will doze for a bit in between bites.
He generally wears a checked or plaid, dark- colored cotton shirt with long sleeves. The cuffs of his sleeves will sometimes drag through the food on his plate as he reaches for his glass of water. The water has been thickened with a lemon flavored substance to make it easier for him to swallow and lessen the likelihood of choking. The substance gives it a texture that makes it seem more like a thick glue rather than a glass of ice water. Many of the residents drink liquids that have been thickened in this manner because they have swallowing difficulties.
Most of the time when I have visited, Dan will eat about half of his meal and then sigh. He is done. He wants no more. It is as if it is just too much of an effort to eat. It tires him out. Halfway through, and he is exhausted from the effort. He takes the cloth napkin from his lap and leaves it neatly next to his plate. Then he slowly pushes away from the table in his wheelchair using his feet to maneuver his way out of the dining room, into the long hallway of the facility, and off on his journey back to his room for an afternoon nap.
