The Broken Benefactor

~1~ (3rd HARD EDIT 06/05/2023)

(THE APPLICANT)

"Have you ever worked as a sitter before?"

The leggy red-head wore a smile plastered to her face. The effort she put into appearing pleasant was noticeably tense as she asked the young woman a procession of questions regarding her healthcare experience. It was impossible to miss the host's undisguised air of irritation as she invited the potential employee into her home.

Proceeding from the living room door where they had lingered for a moment, the ladies walked approximately twenty feet to the other side of the house where they came to an abrupt stop.

As the woman's long elegant fingers paused on the door knob, she turned to the applicant moving her lips as if a question reached their candy-apple red surface only to somehow evaporate just as she moved them to speak.

The interviewer shook her head without speaking a single word as she motioned for the younger woman to follower into the room.

Inside, a cool draft greeted the visitors, and there he was.

Resting peacefully on a hospital bed, her eyes lighted on the patient. Though the space was a bit nippy for the guest's taste, the attitude of the woman conducting the interview was far more frigid adding to the uneasy ambiance sending chills down Valerie's spine.

As if his condition solicited little to no concern from the host, the interviewer continued her endless Q&A session. Her demeanor was detached from all emotion yet surgically focus on the in depth interrogation that was disguised as interview.

Valerie came to a better understanding of the situation as the woman explained that she required assistance with the care of her fiancé. It wasn't lost on the healthcare provider that her host's voice held none of the warmth typically linking a patient to his or her loved ones. The only emotion she had expressed concerning the man's condition was along the same line of irritation the fidgety woman displayed when they made it to the room.

Meager furnishings screamed the same neglect the care provider had sensed when she did her clinical at one of the local dreary nursing homes. The environment in that place stuck in her mind as one of the many signs that patients might not receive the award winning care that the administration spewed-on about in an effort to secure more butts in beds. The environment of the man's room was a bit depressing. That too hinted that there was an apparent lack of concern to be found in the patient's life.

Considering nothing adorned the walls except for what appeared to be a shade of ecru paint, Valorie wondered why the woman might believe her choices would assist her loved one during the recovery process. No pictures were on the walls. No warm colors framed smiling faces to keep the patient company. The only thing the man had to greet him when he opened his eyes were pale grayish yellow-brown walls that looked very much like someone had placed him in a sanatorium.

In a word, the place was DEPRESSING.

Though she hadn't worked as a provider very long, Valerie had enough common sense to pinpoint the woman's inconsiderate yet distant behavior. Not one to judge, she was pretty sure that all of the signs pointed to the fact that the manner in which the man was kept could in no way be right.

A patient's care, interactions with family and friends, and a warm happy environment were employed to work in unison with the hope of bringing the afflicted back from a place of limbo. Without the infectious encouragement required to jumpstart life's spark in the patient's meager existence, how could anyone truly believe that the infirmed actually had a chance to recover?

Of course, a full recovery might be a seen as a miracle considering the essential care the man appeared to have been denied. As he lie motionless since the moment they walked into his room, Valerie's mind processed all she had observed since entering the home.