WORKING -- Haydee Reitmaier

-- story by Young Chang; photo by Greg Fry

SHE IS

Someone who takes care of other people’s parents.

GOODY BAG

Haydee Reitmaier keeps seven sets of makeup and nail polish colors in

her bag. She has a hair dryer, a brush, a can of hair spray and cotton

swabs in there, too.

The seven female residents at Silverado Senior Living in Costa Mesa,

which specializes in caring for Alzheimer’s patients, like to look good.

Some ask for red lipstick. Some ask for pink nails. Reitmaier likes

matching the makeup to her residents’ outfits. As far as she’s concerned,

you’re never too old to look nice. And you’re never too ill to not care.

TWENTY QUESTIONS

A caregiver at Silverado for more than three years, Reitmaier bathes,

feeds and cheers up her residents. She also knows her residents well

enough that when one of them becomes confused, she knows what to do.

“What do you need, dear?” she’ll ask.

The resident won’t know what to say.

“Are you hungry? Do you have to go to the bathroom? Are you thirsty?”

To the last question, the resident might react by shaking her head and

clasping her hands over her ears. This means she is thirsty.

LIKE HER OWN

Reitmaier’s father, Daniel Bonales, died of cancer five years ago. His

caretakers in Mexico didn’t treat him very well, she said.

“That makes me more emotional every time I have contact [with my

residents],” Reitmaier said. “I see my daddy in every old man I see.”

She knows the men at Silverado were once lively fathers and husbands.

The women were once vibrant mothers and wives. She has seen their family

members visit the center and cry. She tries to treat the residents as

their own families would.

“You just make them feel they still have a life,” she said. “If my mom

got sick, I would want good people to take care of her.”

ONCE A GIRL, ALWAYS A GIRL

Wednesday, Reitmaier chose bold pink lipstick and subtle pastel eye

shadow for resident Flora Ohanesian. Tina Turner’s “What’s Love Got To Do

With It?” played on the radio and Ohanesian seemed excited.

“You like the music, huh?” Reitmaier asked.

“Yeah,” Ohanesian nodded.

“You don’t need too much makeup because you are very beautiful,”

Reitmaier said.

The resident gripped her caregiver by the elbows and shook them

lightly. She smiled as if saying, “Thank you.”

“Everybody likes to look nice,” Reitmaier said.