82-Year-Old Has His Say On D.C. Trip
Howard Slinger needs Debbie Pitner so badly that he flew to Washington, D.C., this fall to tell Congress.
For three hours every day, Debbie cleans his Hayden house, cooks his meals, bathes him and washes his clothes. Without her, 82-year-old Howard would probably be in a nursing home - a thought that makes his thin legs tremble.
“I don’t want to hear the screaming in the halls,” he says, his blue eyes round as dinner plates. “It would drive anyone up the wall.”
The National Association of Home Care asked Howard to tell his story to the congressional subcommittee on health care. The House committee wants to trim Medicare. But first it had to face a frail but determined army in wheelchairs.
“I never want to be in a nursing home after seeing how my wife was taken care of there,” Howard testified. “Please don’t cut Medicare and force me into a nursing home.”
Howard smiles now about his whirlwind trip to the nation’s capital. Debbie went along to help him. No one asked her to testify, but she had something to say.
“I know I won’t have a job if they eliminate the service,” she says, as she pulls white socks onto Howard’s feet.
A combination of Medicare and Medicaid allows Howard to stay in the house he’s lived in for 30 years. He cared for his wife, Hazel, in that house until she had to move to a nursing home. She died two years ago.
Fading pictures of hundreds of children from the day care the Slingers operated still cover the walls in Howard’s favorite room.
Howard suffers from arthritis and respiratory disease. His face is as creviced as drought-stricken soil. He can’t walk without support. But he needs no more than a few hours a day from Debbie and a visit from a registered nurse every two weeks to stay happy.
“At least at home, he can have some control over his life,” Debbie says, eyeing the little wirehair dog Howard would have to give up if he leaves home. “If more elderly could stay at home, we’d see a lot fewer in the obituaries.”
Fill ‘er up
Spirit Lake’s Linger Longer Lounge easily found 313 stomachs to fill last week. The lounge wanted to raise food and money for Spirit Lake’s food bank, so it cooked a big meal, held a raffle and raised $1,119.
The 313 people who bought meal tickets ate 200 pounds of donated salmon and seven turkeys. They also brought 1,548 cans of food for the food bank. See, there’s more to Spirit Lake than angry people with picket signs.
A slice of the season
Coeur d’Alene Carrousel Players Bobbi Kotula, Frank Jewett, Roger Welch and Maureen Manning couldn’t pass up Christmas so they wrote a show based on their holiday experiences.
Don’t expect pfeffernuesse and fudge at this show. Try pizza, coffee and dessert. But don’t chew too loudly or you’ll miss “Tales of the Season.” The show starts at 5 p.m. on Sunday. Call 1-800-423-2849 for tickets.
Two ringy-dingies
Gail Chatfield’s Siamese kitten Siara took off with Gail’s wedding rings not long ago. Gail found them two weeks later in the living room rug in her Cataldo home.
Gail hadn’t told her husband because she didn’t know how to explain the loss - somewhat like her friend Dee Boeck in Sandpoint. Dee’s husband learned from the school newspaper that she’d lost and found her wedding rings.
Gail read Dee’s story in The Spokesman-Review and wants Dee to read Gail’s in the paper, too, because the two women were roommates at the University of Idaho.
“She and I shared many secrets, but never the one about the lost wedding rings,” Gail says.
What’s your odd story? Scribble it down for Cynthia Taggart, “Close to Home,” 608 Northwest Blvd., Suite 200, Coeur d’Alene, ID 83814; send a fax to 765-7149; or call 765-7128.
, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color Photo