Why do the Elderly Moan?

My suite-mate changed over today.

This is what the suite looks like (actual promotional picture). You can see the curtain that closes between the rust coloured wall and the window separating tenant A from tenant B, making it officially "semi private". The shared bathroom with a roll-in shower is the room behind the heads of the beds. Each tenant has their own window, own entry door and their own doorway into the bathroom.

The design is based on the theory that physical environments impact the quality and delivery of health care for patients and staff.  And let me tell you - after coming from the hell hole that was the spinal unit, the designers are right!

But back to my story.

The previous tenant was an ancient, depressed, resentful and angry woman who spent her entire visit refusing to do anything except sleep and be incontinent.  Well, I don't actually know she was angry and depressed, but she certainly seemed that way.  Her urge to spend her entire life sleeping made her the perfect suite-mate for me!

Hospital management decided they had had enough, and kicked her out. I got to be a fly on the wall for the discussion between the hospital staff and the adult son ... and also to be a witness to how his mother was actually behaving vs how she behaved when he was there.  Nothing like juicy hospital gossip - who needs daytime TV!   Well, kudos to management for doing the right thing, this is tax payer funded rehab, not chronic care.

Beds don't stay empty for long - so my new suite-mate moved in right away.  Very sick and elderly. Chronic this, chronic that., on oxygen and a CPAP machine. But that didn't stop her from working her way through her phone book yapping to everyone she had in there about her new room, arranging for her TV service (oy) and dozing on and off  (I know, again with the fly-on the wall)  So far she's had no urge to contact me, so I take this to mean she's not going to be one of those "how was your physio, dear" every time I leave the room types.  WIN !

But, I'm going to need my earplugs - she's a moaner. If her mouth ain't talking, it's moaning.  If I didn't know better, I'd swear she either brought a sex toy or she's watching porn with the volume on!