Quality of Life Stories

The Reunion

Posted by on August 24, 2010 at 6:22 pm

Ann was visiting one of her favorite guardianship clients, when she decided to ask, “What would you like more than anything in the world?  Mary said, “I’d like to see my sister once more before I die.”  Working this out was a challenge since her sister lived in a nursing home several hours away and [...]

Waco Tribune Herald Story About Our Dancers

Posted by on August 22, 2010 at 11:21 pm

Today, the Waco Tribune Herald featured a story written by Wendy Gragg about ballroom dancing at our Adult Day Care Center.  She tells how much our clients love it and you can read the article.

Tomorrow’s My Birthday

Posted by on August 3, 2010 at 10:03 am

I got a call from an elderly man who said, “My rocking chair’s broke.  Can you fix my rocking chair?  It’s all I have.”  “Well, I am not sure, but I’ll try to find someone who can fix your rocking chair”.  Then he said, “Tomorrow’s my birthday.”  I said, “that’s great.  What are you getting [...]

My Dog Died

Posted by on August 2, 2010 at 5:15 am

“My dog died.”  That was the first thing he said when he called and I told him how sorry I was.  “Can you get me a new dog?”  He was elderly and he lived alone.  His dog had been his best friend – his only friend.  “We’ve never had anyone ask us for a dog [...]

Please Come Get Me

Posted by on July 31, 2010 at 4:17 am

When she called she was whispering and begging, “Please come get me.”  We picked her up and when we had driven just a few blocks away, she said, “They’re hurting me.”  And, she showed us her bruises.  She was 80 years old and very frightened.  “Please don’t make me go back.” We found her a [...]

Remembering Ida

Posted by on July 27, 2010 at 5:12 am

Ida might have been our very first volunteer. I think she was 76 when she started volunteering with us. She adopted six grandmas in our Adopt a Grandparent Program. She was older than all of them. One of the ladies she adopted hadn’t spoken since she was 18 years old. Ida came by the office one day so excited to tell me she had found a way to communicate with her new friend – one blink for ‘yes’, two blinks for ‘no’.

Everything She Owned

Posted by on July 22, 2010 at 2:40 pm

We were asked to help an elderly widow move.  She had been renting a house but her son had moved in with her.  He was an alcoholic.  He mistreated her terribly and when he ran out of money to buy alcohol he pawned her things.  When we came to pick her up everything she owned [...]

Stuffed Animals

Posted by on July 5, 2010 at 4:23 am

I sent dozens of girls from a sorority at Baylor University to a nursing home one day to deliver stuffed animals to the ladies and balloons to the men. Later that day, I received a call from the social worker at the nursing home. She said, “Inez, I have to tell you something that happened after the girls left.”

Mother’s Day

Posted by on July 5, 2010 at 4:22 am

About a month before our first Mother’s Day at Friends for Life, I got a call from a nursing home. Could we provide corsages for all the female residents? Well, I had no money and didn’t even know how to make a corsage.

“Did You Know My Wife Died?”

Posted by on July 5, 2010 at 4:20 am

I got a call one day from the activity director at a nursing home. She said, “There is a man here who is going to die, I think, if you can’t help him.”