98-year-old ‘grateful’ after pandemic year
ONiskayuna ur first impulse was to hug. It had been more than a year since I had visited my friend, Don Black, a 98-year-old World War II veteran, who resides in an assisted-living facility. I was his first visitor since the coronavirus pandemic lockdown began last March, aside from a son who was allowed to drive him to scheduled medical appointments.
As Don removed one hand from his walker and sidled toward me with an outstretched arm, a flustered health aide stepped between us.
“Stop. You’ll get me fired,” she said.
We apologized and settled for an elbow bump.
After a year that he likened to solitary confinement, quarantined in his room for long stretches to combat COVID-19 cases in the facility, Black tried to put the
months of deprivation and isolation into perspective.
“I’m just grateful for all those good years I’ve had in my life,” he said. “Gratitude allowed me to accept this past year more easily. It’s unlike any other year in my lifetime.”
Black praised the dedication and commitment of the staff at Brookdale in Niskayuna throughout the ordeal of this past year. He praised low-wage aides who assist him daily, nearly all of whom are from Guyana.
His primary aide, Valicia, offers extra small kindnesses, like re-positioning the plastic nasal oxygen tubes that hook over his ears to reduce chafing and discomfort.
“Valicia is friendly, attentive and a hard worker,” Black said. “I’m fortunate to have her and other wonderful staff members taking care of me.”
Black did not complain about the strict lockdowns when positive coronavirus cases appeared. “They did a great job keeping us safe,” he said. “They took all necessary precautions.”
We sat outside, 6 feet apart, on a sun-splashed Friday afternoon and savored a fine spring day.
The Brookdale facility in Niskayuna has not had any presumed or confirmed deaths due to COVID-19, according to state Department of Health records. Overall, there have been 15,430 presumed or confirmed COVID-19 deaths in long-term care facilities statewide, including 5,866 fatalities that occurred outside of facilities, state records showed as of March 3. New York is second behind California in total coronavirus deaths.
Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo’s administration has been accused of deliberately obscuring the full scope of nursing home deaths in New York and providing false data to the Justice Department. The F.B.I. is investigating. State Attorney General Letitia James released a critical report in January that concluded the Cuomo administration undercounted COVID-19 nursing home deaths by 50 percent.
Some of Black’s prolonged isolation was his own choosing. He had grown accustomed to having meals delivered to his room. When the dining room reopened some weeks ago, he chose to pick up his meals and bring them back to his room rather than eating with other residents.
Black has severe hearing loss and past efforts with hearing aids were unsatisfactory. “I can’t hear much with face masks, social distancing and dining room noise,” he said. “I’m not anti-social. It’s a hearing problem.”
In World War II, Black flew 17 bombing missions over Germany during the winter of 1945 as the war was coming to an end. He served as a radio operator on a B-17 in the 305th Bombardment Group of the Eighth Air Force.
Black is the last survivor of his B-17 crew. He has become friendly with John Morgan IV, grandson of his tail gunner, Jack Morgan. He and a few dozen family members and friends, myself included, receive Black’s periodic email, “Letters from Brookdale.”
He used to comment on politics or current events, but lately recycled past essays and travelogues from adventures as an avid cyclist in his 70s and 80s.
His wife Evelyn, died in 2008 after 59 years of marriage. Brooklyn-born, Black retired in 1992 after a 50-year career in commercial banking. He suffered a fall at his home in Latham two years ago and fractured a hip, which required surgery, six months of hospitalization and rehab. His two grown sons have been supportive, but he misses his independence. He enjoyed driving to the Colonie library every few weeks to return a tote bag of books and check out a stack of new titles. Black had been a voracious reader, devouring two or three books a week.
“I’m finding it harder to read and write now,” he said. “I don’t have as much energy or concentration.”
He has been bothered by eye irritation and has difficulty focusing on the printed page. His son, Gordon, has scheduled an appointment with an ophthalmologist.
He continues to subscribe to the Times Union, The New Yorker and Flying magazine.
Sometimes, he dreams about flying. Black was a recreational civilian pilot for 30 years and logged more than 5,700 hours. He gave up flying at 74 due to rising liability insurance costs. He helped teach his son, Steve, how to fly beginning at 11. His son retired two years ago after a 40-year career as a commercial pilot.
“I do a lot of sleeping now,” Black said. “I tell people I’m in practice for the big sleep.”
He keeps in touch with his
sister, Sheila, a retired nurse who is 14 years younger and lives in Kansas. She is the last of his three sisters and finds great comfort in her faith, while he is agnostic.
He does not fear death. “I know it sounds maudlin, but I want to know what the big sleep
is like,” he said. “We really don’t know what comes afterward.”
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