Stories from Caregivers: Paula from PENNSYLVANIA
PA
Paula
FROM PENNSYLVANIA
John will be 90 in February, brought up in an orphanage and enlisted in WWII at 17, serving from 1940 to 1945. He was a gunner on the merchant marine ships and was there when MacArthur signed the papers at the end of the war. He worked until he was 87 and had a work related accident which fractured his back which cannot be corrected in any sensible way at his age. It has been difficult for him to adjust to the boredom and inability to "do" things like he used to, ie change lightbulbs and move things. He was an acolyte in the church and cannot do that anymore. He walks with a cane outside and the walker inside. He still drives around town with me with him and needs to get out several times a week. He loves to see and talk to people! I am a lay chaplain in the local hospital (for 16 years) and conduct a bible study at our senior center, twice a month. Also I am responsible for the monthly schedule at our Episcopal church, chalice and officiate at morning prayer.
