A kind heart in a difficult job.

My father Gary — a vigorous age 90  — faithfully jumps around in a YMCA exercise class three times a week.  It’s a tight-knit group of cardiac patients (all of whom have had surgery or some heart-related issue).  Naturally, everyone gets worried when one classmate goes missing.  It’s been a healthy group, and they take their cardio seriously.

One friend, Bill, has been out for several months.  After a setback, he was in long-term care down in Palo Alto.  I suggested that since we were going there to see my mother, we should take the opportunity to find Bill.  My Dad brightened, and we looked forward to finding Bill.  We tried his wife, whose phone was full.  We decided we’d take a shot to find him anyway.  My Dad was determined.

We left early in the morning to have a nice visit.  At the campus, we tracked down the facility, got permission from a property manager, and headed upstairs.  Excited and a little nervous because we both hoped Bill was okay, we had a purple Trader Joe’s orchid and ‘get well’ card in hand.

“I wouldn’t mind living here,” my father said cheerfully as we traipsed down the light-yellow hall.  He paints the best face on everything, a quality I admire.  I’d been thinking, “God forbid I never live in a place like this,” as we’d made the same walk.

Four knocks and a few buzzers later, Bill didn’t answer.  We stood there quietly, worrying again.  “It’s a nice day,” my father offered.  “Maybe they’re out for a ride.”  We left our bag and headed down.

Just to be sure, and because I could tell my father was disappointed, we found the manager.  She suggested I leave my cel phone number on the card so Bill’s wife could find us.  She thought he might be back in the hospital but due to patient confidentiality couldn’t really tell us.

I went upstairs again to leave my number on the card.  We thanked our new friend and clambered into my rental SUV to go see my mother, situation unresolved.

Ten minutes later, Bill’s wife connected with me.  Thanks to Michelle’s kindness, we visited Bill … who was delighted to see my father.  They made a plan for Gary to come back, bearing Bill’s favorite salmon + dill sauce on Wednesday, and we felt very self-congratulatory that our trekking around did not go to waste.  I took Michelle’s card because she had a kind heart in a difficult job.   thank her for ‘service above & beyond’.