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Participant Profiles

 

Juanita Cole

A World of Memories

There is a presence and poise about Juanita Cole. Her demeanor speaks of grace and gentility. The ethnic clothes she wears recall memories of many lands and many languages. Juanita’s calm, gently-modulated voice suggests that she has been in conversations with dignitaries from around the world. Indeed she has been. For 30 years Juanita held a position in the Foreign Service of the U.S. State Department. She was one of the first African American women to hold such a position.

In France she hosted dinner parties for the international set. In more than a dozen countries, Juanita entertained her guests with music, dancing and gourmet foods—many of them made with her own hands. This was Juanita’s life when she was in good health—before the debilitating effects of severe diabetes.

Now she spends her days at The Johnson Center. She likes to go out for lunch and be around people. She enjoys mind-stimulating activities and best of all, she can’t wait for the dancing and music to begin after lunch. But be advised, when you ask her to dance, you are in for the ride of your life. Her feet explode to the beat with energetic stomps. Her arms punctuate the air in rhythmic gyrations. For a moment she is queen of the dance floor, transported to a different country in another world.

 

 

Claude Asp

A Place of Friendship and Care

Meet Claude, the Johnson Adult Day Center’s oldest participant and the program’s greatest fan. Claude’s story began five years ago when the 95 year-old retired forester and land management professional found himself isolated in his home living with the devastating effects of memory loss. With deteriorating health, Claude was rapidly losing his ability to move around and to take care of himself. Despite tireless caregiving by family members, Claude was losing the sense of joy and meaning in life that comes with independence and social contact.

The family decided to enroll Claude in adult day programs at the Johnson Center, a specialized center with daytime activities designed specifically for older adults with Alzheimer’s disease or for those with cognitive impairments due to stroke. The program includes exercise, music, dancing, arts and daytrips. The Center is a place of friendship and care.

Claude, whose limited mobility required use of a walker, is now walking independently. But just as important, his life and his spirits have lifted. Claude felt compelled to share his thoughts and feelings and so wrote a letter to the Johnson Adult Day Center’s staff. In his own words:

Your program has transformed my life from the ordinary to one of overwhelming thankfulness and joy. (Your) display of concern, loving care, kindness and support for our personal welfare carries a divine connotation. Thank you for listening to me. Thank you for caring about me. God bless you and your staff and program! God bless my fellow patients, too.

With sincere love and admiration,

Claude

 

 

Gerti Beagle

Of Rainbows and Butterflies

For as long as she can remember, Gerti has enjoyed art–drawing, painting and just about anything creative. When she was in the third grade, she designed a "pin-on book"–a miniature story book that could double as a sweater pin, made from little strips of paper. It was created as part of a book report she presented to her teacher. At the time, she was fascinated with the idea of books; the words, pages and illustrations.

But Gerti had another love–children. Born to Irish parents in Michigan in 1929, she was one of eight children. She attended the University of Detroit before marrying, and later moved to Colorado where she raised four children. Gerti worked in medical records and in the court system, but she eventually decided that children "were her heart" and so decided to become a stay-at-home mom.

As an "at home mom," she plied her creative talents liberally, providing wonderful art projects, games and activities for the children in her neighborhood. She taught them how to paint with flowers, using the parts of the flower to sketch and paint. "They discovered that they could make a whole rainbow of colors working with just the plants themselves," says Gerti. Later she started drawing portraits of her friends, and has delighted participants and staff at The Johnson Center with her caricatures.

Gerti paints twice a week in the Memories in the Making art program at The Johnson Center. She draws on her treasured memories and her current experiences and feelings to create wonderful works of art. After the tragic death of her granddaughter in a hit-and- run accident, she painted butterflies to represent her granddaughter's spirit and her resurrection. This helped Gerti heal.

Gerti loves to color her world. From her wardrobe, jewelry and make up, to her playful paintings and sketches, like a bright rainbow, Gerti's art reflects her life.

 

 

Renee Champion

Memoirs or Great Novel?

If Renee Champion were to write a book based on his extraordinary life, some would consider it a work of fiction.  The story of his life is simply hard to believe.  Renee has not written a novel.  He has written a 500-page manuscript that he calls his memoirs.  In his own words, “I have been an intellectual and physical vagabond my whole life.” Here is the sweetened, condensed version recently captured in a phone interview.

Renee was born to a single mother in Paris in 1921.  The circumstances of his parentage were a matter of great secrecy and importance at the time--the full details of which may never be known.  He was left in an orphanage in France when he was eight months old only to be reclaimed by his mother eight years later.

Renee and his mother didn’t get along.  He was abused and often ran away from home. He went to boarding school in France and later moved to the United States with his mother. When he was 13 years old his mother told him that a very well known, wealth man wanted to adopt him.  It was not to be, and after years of abuse, he left his home and high school to become a hobo.  From age 16 to 20 he traveled around the country.  His vagabond life brought him exciting adventures and taught him many skills.  He worked for a millionaire, labored on the docks, became a lay preacher and a farm hand. Once while hitch-hiking, he met the dean of a small college in New Mexico who offered him a formal education.  He jumped at the chance and applied himself to his studies with earnest, but in 1941 his heart had a greater calling. Renee joined the Free French Forces. He returned to Europe to help General DeGalle liberate France.    He was wounded in a fire storm while driving a tank and was hospitalized near Paris.  During his convalescence, thoughts of his childhood were on his mind.  He was always haunted by the secrecy surrounding his birth.  He began a search for his birth records and despite freshly bandaged face burns, arrived at the doorstep of his birthplace where he was greeted by a very old woman.  “You must be Renee,” she said to him without hesitation. This woman had been his midwife. She took him to the room and the very bed where he was born.  Renee felt the next question burning inside him, “Who is my father?”  The midwife asked to be forgiven, confessing, that on the night of his birth, she had sworn to secrecy.

Renee was awarded the Legion of Honor for his service in the war, and in 1945 came back to the United States to attend City College in New York and later Columbia University where he received a Ph.D. in anthropology.  He married several times, taught at City College and later joined a “think tank” in California.  He designed radar stations for RAND Corporation and when that no longer excited him, he joined a former colleague to become a manager for several divisions of Johns Manville in Colorado. He developed training programs and monitored the installation of radar stations for RAND Corporation. He finally retired his formal career to teach anthropology at Metro State College and Denver University until he was 80 years old.

Now 86, he likes to go on daytrips with the Johnson Center, seeing new places, making new friends and keeping his mind as active as possible.  Renee most certainly has an extraordinary personal history. Anyone know an eager publisher?  Renee’s memoirs are waiting.

 

 

Delores Harper

Caregiving Partnership

When it comes to caregiving, it takes a village.At least that’s what Delores Harper and her daughter, Mary, believe. They know just how important many people are in bringing help and happiness into their lives.

Mary is one of the 50 million people annually who provide care for an aging or disabled family members; 60% of these caregivers are women. Despite her mother’s memory loss and impairments, Mary is determined to keep her mother in their original family home and to delay placement in a facility for as long as possible. It hasn’t been easy. After being laid off from her job, Mary decided it was best to stay at home and take care of her 94-year-old mother. They tried to live on social security and other fixed income sources, but it was soon apparent that medical bills and tax payments were piling up. Worse yet, Mary realized that her health was deteriorating from the emotional and financial drain of full-time caregiving. She was suffering and her mother was in a deep depression.

A friend told her about community resources for caregivers and she began to learn about a network of helping agencies and benefits available to her. She found a job as an office manager with flexible hours. She learned that Medicaid would cover adult day services and she enrolled Delores in The Johnson Center program. She rented a bedroom in her home to a friend willing to cover a caregiver shift. She hired a Personal Care Provider (PCP) to help with household chores and caregiving. She learned about support groups and other resources at The Johnson Center.

Life has gotten better for Mary and Delores. “Mom’s whole mood and attitude has changed as a result of her new life at The Johnson Center,” reports Mary. “Mom is a retired nurse and likes to go off to the Center to do things and be with her friends. She gets up in the morning and is dressed and ready to go when the van comes to pick her up. She’s off for her day, and I’m off for mine. She’s happier and I’m happier. She’s so affectionate now and we have quality time together.”

 

 

Scotty McLeod

In Pursuit of the Active Life

What do you do when the body is willing but the mind falters?  Those with dementia sometimes find themselves in this frustrating state of affairs as they age. In good physical health, the desire to “go” and “do” is strong, yet memory loss can make living an independent, active life difficult, or at the very least, unsafe. What’s more, family members may not be close by. It may be necessary to move into an assisted living facility or senior care home even though no physical impairment is present.

That was the situation Scotty Mcleod found himself in and here is how adult day programs helped him make the best of living with memory loss.

George (Scotty) McLeod is from Scotland (hence the nickname). Nearly 80 years old, Scotty spent his entire life seeking high adventure in the great outdoors. In his teens, he developed skills as a rock, snow and ice climber. A world-class mountaineer well-known in Great Britain, he was tapped to explore Antarctica with a team of geophysicists—for seven years escorting scientists through the icy wilderness by dog sled. He received the Polar Medal from Queen Elizabeth of England for his efforts. He moved to the United States and joined The Colorado Outward Bound School faculty, where he shared his talents and skills for more than 20 years. When Scotty was 59 years old, he was part of a team of climbers who made an attempt up the difficult west ridge of Mt. Everest. To celebrate his 60th birthday, his family sent him to the base of Mt. McKinley, where he trained a team of dogs to run the Iditarod, Alaska’s famous cross-country endurance feat. Clearly, this is a man in pursuit of the active life.

But this epic story was about to change. After returning to Scotland, the effects of memory loss jeopardized his life and his relationships. He fell into a difficult and depressing time, described by some as living in a cocoon; afraid to talk, socialize or pursue outdoor activities. His family brought him back to the states and began looking for solutions. In the end they found the right combination of resources—an assisted living facility would become his home and “high impact” activities at The Johnson Center would fill his need for long hikes, exercise, all-day excursions, companionship and social outings with friends. His family reports that he is reaffirmed when he returns from a day of activities. His moods and his mental outlook have improved dramatically.

To learn more about high impact activities and other programs specifically designed for active people living with Alzheimer’s, contact The Johnson Center at (303) 789-1519.

 

 

Roland Zarlengo, M.D.

Loves the Ladies

Ask Roland Zarlengo what makes a good day, and he’ll quickly tell you: going out to lunch and dancing with the ladies. Never mind that he is 88 years old. When it comes to the ladies, he is young at heart and always ready for bright conversation and a glide around the dance floor at The Johnson Center.

It just comes naturally to Dr. Zarlengo, a retired physician, who got plenty of attention from his five sisters while growing up (they taught him how to dance and introduced him to music). After marriage and medical school, he and his wife raised a brood of six—five girls and one boy. Is it any wonder he’s at home with the ladies?

After his wife died, he was lonely and isolated. His daughters brought him to The Johnson Center two days a week for daytrips, lunch excursions, music and dancing. Friendships have blossomed over the past four years. While recuperating from a broken hip, he was surprised and pleased to have his friends from The Johnson Center come to his home for a visit.

He’s back in his stride again. His daughter reports that her dad is so much happier at the end of the day than when he was at home all of the time. So what’s the doctor’s remedy for old age?  Having a lively time with the ladies at The Johnson Center.