PHOTO BY TYLER TJOMSLAND / MPW.63 PHOTO BY TYLER TJOMSLAND / MPW.63
  • Little General
  • By TYLER TJOMSLAND
  • The 63rd Missouri Photo Workshop / Clinton, Mo.
  • Anna Fannon's employees and patients christened her "The Little General," due to her small stature and because there is no question that she is the boss. On a given day, Anna, the director of nurses at Clinton's Healthcare and Rehab Center is in charge of 61 patients and somewhere between 45-50 nurses, depending on how many she recently hired, fired or rehired. The 61st patient is her husband, Buddy, 57, who currently lives in the facility due to complications from diabetes. He recently had his right leg amputated from the knee down, confining him to a wheelchair.

    Her son Willie, is also a part-time patient. At 28 he has suffered from four heart attacks and battles kidney failure. Fannon says doctors predict her son won't live past his thirties. At home, she cares for him and his ten-year-old daughter Shantel.

    ***

    Anna Fannon, left, dances with a patient at Clinton's Healthcare and Rehab Center as she sings along to the Johnny Cash song "Get Rhythm". "When I was a little girl I wanted to go to Nashville to become a country western singer," she said.



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