A still spry 81 years of age, Mazell shot a round of golf five years ago and scored her age: a more than respectable seventy-six! She also has a hole in one to her credit, and plays golf most mornings before working part time as an LPN-Charge Nurse at Knollwood, or cooking for the Senior Citizens Center.
Knollwood administrator Linda Austin says, "Mazell is 'on-call' for us all the time, mostly the 3-11 shift. She'll help out however we need her. And she'll help out however we need her. She's always wants everyone to be busy doing their work--is always cleaning up her station, talking to our families and visitors.
"She often brings food to the staff that she has cooked, and she's a wonderful cook!" Linda added.
Mazell has worked with Linda Austin and Knollwood manor for more than fourteen years. Three years ago she celebrated 50 years in the nursing profession. So it should come as no surprise that when nominated for "Caregiver of the Year" earlier this summer, the Tennessee Health Care Association chose to recognize her with the Nashville district honor, which was awarded at the THCA's annual convention in Gatlinburg on August 26.
One incident of extraordinary "care giving" among many was cited by Linda Austin in her nomination of Mazell Driver for this honor: "She is not afraid to tell anyone what she thinks, even our doctors!
"We recently had a very sick patient whom she sent over to the emergency room. The patent's doctor was not on duty in the ER and the patient was sent back to the nursing home after two or three hours--sicker than he was when she first sent him.
"She proceeded to call the ER doctor to tell him this patient was a sick man and should be in the hospital per a daughter's and her request.
"The ER doctor called the man's personal physician who called the nursing home back and told them to send him back to the hospital for direct admission."
On the night of the February 5 tornado, Mazell was on duty. She and the rest of the staff moved the residents into the hallway to maintain their safety, and her nine-hour shift quickly turned into more than eleven hours.
As she was leaving the nursing home late that night, Macon County General Hospital called asking for assistance with the overload of tornado victims coming in for treatment. After working eleven hours at the nursing home, 81-year-old Mazell Driver went over to the hospital to help them for several more hours.
"I never think about how old I am--I've got arthritis and aches and pains, but after I get up in the morning and get going, I don't think about it. I enjoy playing golf, running errands for friends and playing with my grandchildren," says Ms. Mazell, who had cooked fried apples and creamed corn to take to the Senior Center's birthday luncheon the Thursday morning we talked with her.
"My three children are all retired, and I'm still working!" she noted.
She's proud of her modest but lovely home (which she bought in the late 1960's) to which she has added rooms, fireplaces and a master bedroom over the past 40 years.
Next month the Tennessee Health Care Association will chose between the state's six district honorees to award a state-wide "Caregiver of the Year." That honor, which includes several prizes including a Caribbean Cruise, might well go to Mazell Draper, although she says she doesn't "care anything about taking a cruise."
She'd rather spend time with her children and grandchildren when they visit her right here in Macon County.
[Editor's note: Ms. Mazell is such an outstanding character, and has such a long life and career, it simply can't be told in one newspaper story. Prior to becoming an LPN in the mid-1950's, Mazell was a Macon County schoolteacher, teaching in the proverbial one-room schoolhouses in Highland, Galen and Union Camp communities among others. We'll soon do another story on this chapter of this amazing woman's life.
And thank you for reading our newspaper!]
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