“Yes, I will cover it. I promise. It’s the best option.”
“Now, don’t go stressing yourself out over it. I don’t want that for you, Mia.”
“Leave it to me. I wanted to call first and let you know.” This week had been a rollercoaster of ups and downs, and all I wanted was some peace. Some of that would come once I got my mother over to the nursing home of her choice. Truthfully, it wasn’t really so much of a nursing home as it was a retirement village with upgraded medical facilities and nurses on call.
I kept true to my promise and rode over to the Meadowbank Village. I pressed the large entry button at the front gate as they released it and opened. I liked the fact that you had to gain entry, via the gates. I drove in and parked in the visitors’ section.
Another stinking hot day in Holbeck, but I was well-hydrated and had a chilled bottle of water in my bag. I walked in through the double doors to a semi-rounded reception desk with a young woman sitting at the front with blonde hair. On the left of the space was the cafeteria and around thirty tables, which were all full.
Meadowbank was a thriving little metropolis of its own. I approached the desk with a smile. “Hi, my name is Mia Copeland, and I wanted to bring in a hard copy of my application for my mother. I know it takes a while to process, but I wanted to put her application in now.”
The young woman smiled. “Sure, generally it takes around about three months for assessment. We do have a little bit of a waitlist depending on the level of care your mother wants. You should receive an email once your application’s been uploaded into the system,” she said sweetly.
I wondered how many times she had recited that speech. “Do you have a card here for the facility management?” I enquired.
She pointed to the front of the desk where a stand of business cards was set up. She picked one up and handed it to me. “Here you go. Her name is Sue Handley. She’s on the floor a lot of the time, but she’s not in on Fridays. The best way to reach her is via email.”
“Thank you.”
“Have you taken a look around? We do have a host that can take you on a tour of the premises.”
“Yes, I went on one with my mother a couple of days ago. Thank you though.”
“You’re welcome, Ms. Copeland.” The young woman smiled back at me.
I walked out into the steaminess that was Holbeck. I felt too drained to go for a look around. All I wanted to do was lie down.