The warm wind tossed the fading leaves, still rich with Mother Nature's brilliance, on the quiet road back to the spacious and sprawling one-story structure. The sun snoozed behind the clouds, yet emitted enough warmth to make this a beautiful and comfortable fall day, enough to make it memorable before cold winds intrude.
It was just a normal day at this building, called a nursing home by some, healthcare facility by others, simply home to yet others. Despite the usual daily routine, everyone had a tale to tell. However, I knew the "rest of the story" behind two of the stories on this day, both of which I choose to call "beginnings."
The first beginning featured the celebration of determined and slow, but steady, progress in recovery from a stroke. The woman had a massive stroke about a year and a half earlier. She's now engaged in trying to recapture her ability to speak and walk as her feisty attitude leads the way. Her face speaks volumes with smiles and eyes that roll when someone says something silly. She and her family are mastering the skills of transporting her in and out of the van under the careful eye of the physical therapist. Once she is inside, everyone is pleased, and as she goes for a ride, her grin replaces the lazy sun.
Every day will be a new beginning for this woman as she relearns the basics of everyday life to reach new definitions of independence. She and her family understand the reality of a stroke and how she'll be recovering and gaining a new experience every day of her life.
The second beginning featured the journey that another family had been dreading, the day in which their loved one, the patriarch, husband, dad and grandpa, could no longer be cared for at home and had to settle into these new surroundings. Alzheimer's had assaulted him and the entire family. That horrid disease had continued to destroy this man's brain to the point where he refused to cooperate in the simplest chores of everyday life, and the family's energy and efforts had finally succumbed to exhaustion.
Every day will be a new beginning for this man who has no memories of the love of and for his family and friends. His family understands the reality of Alzheimer's and how its cruel grip continues to rob him of something every day of his life.
The first family has started a new chapter in saying hello, while the second has begun the newest chapter of saying goodbye.
And the ink will continue to flow.
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