Gifts of hope, happiness make a difference

by MEGAN NORTHCOTE
Intern Lifestyles Reporter

Tiny faded pictures encased in gold swung from the branches of a six-inch bronze tree sitting atop a dresser.

Some were faces of little boys, others of grown men and women with vibrant smiles masked beneath the black and white, each picture swaying like apples on a tree, suspended in time.

“Is this your family?” I asked the little woman with soft curly hair and large round spectacles.

“Oh yes, that’s them. And those are my three boys,” the woman said, pointing a shaky finger toward a larger picture directly above the photo tree of three lean men in their twenties.

“They’re all dead now. Died of cancer,” the woman paused.  “And so did my husband.”

Silence filled the room. Enveloping us. Suffocating our words.

Beside the picture of her sons, a big white satin banner with the words “Survivor” caught my attention.

Still at a loss for words, one of my friends asked the question lingering in both our minds.

“Are you a cancer survivor ma’am?”

“Yes, I’m a survivor. Had it in my jaw once. They cut out that knot. Then they found it in my breast. But I’m just grateful to be here as long as the good Lord wants me to,” the woman said.

I could have slept in last Saturday. I could have watched TV, played online games, or simply done nothing at all.

But I didn’t.

Instead, I went to Deerfield Assisted Living where I met some incredible people with incredible stories to tell that changed my life.

After leaving the room of the cancer survivor, I remember at first feeling totally helpless and angry all at once.

Why did this woman have to lose everyone she loved in her life to the same disease that almost took her own?

Why did she have to be stuck living her last years in this nursing home, alone?

What could anyone possibly do for her?

What did she have to live for anymore?

Hope.

Hope that one day she might be reunited with her husband and sons.

Hope that she might have a visitor with whom she could share life’s lessons.

Hope that she might have a visitor who could help her relive her memories and celebrate life.

For two hours last Saturday, my friends and I went door-to-door, passing out Thanksgiving Day cards and reminiscing with the nursing home residents about their younger days.

But what brought a smile to their faces most was hearing our lives, the lives of young people and knowing that, despite this generational gap, we still cared for them.

The greatest gift you can give this holiday season or anytime of the year, is this gift of hope and happiness.

Giving of your time to be someone’s remembering friend at a nursing home gives them hope and helps them relive the happier times that we all too often take for granted.

Deerfield Assisted Living, Glenbridge Health and Rehabilitation Center and Appalachian Brian Estates Retirement Home are all wonderful places to interact with the residents and spread hope and happiness to the elderly of Boone.

This Thanksgiving, when you’re stuffing your face with turkey or enjoying the Macy’s Day Parade with your family and friends, be reminded of all you have to be grateful for.

And give the gift of hope and happiness.

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