A Heart for Helping Others

Margot Sheridan with Brenda Long, Executive Director, Great Opportunities

Intelligent. Articulate. Compassionate. All describe 14-year old Margot Sheridan, a young lady with a heart for helping others. As Student Council President, Margot has organized several fundraisers benefiting Great Opportunities Adult Day Services, one of the Geneva Charitable Programs.

In addition to raising money for Smile Train, breast cancer research, and school functions, Margot and her classmates at Saint Joan of Arc Elementary School, have hosted “Apples for Alzheimer’s” a fundraiser selling a variety of apples, (kindly donated by Affy Tapple in Niles, IL), with all proceeds benefiting Great Opportunities Adults Day Services in Skokie, IL. More than just a fundraiser, “Apples for Alzheimer’s” has become a mission close to Margot’s heart.

In 2007, Margot’s grandmother, Carole, began demonstrating advanced symptoms of Alzheimer’s. As Alzheimer’s progressed, Margot’s family realized they needed additional help in caring for Carole’s specific needs. Upon a referral from their Parish, they learned of Great Opportunities, and found within the support Carole required. “My grandma loved going to Great Opportunities” Margot recalls with a smile. “Great Opportunities is all she talked about, all day long, from the minute she woke up.”

Great Opportunities Adult Day Services cares for senior citizens with cognitive or behavioral conditions that require skilled attention. By providing need-specific activities and personalized healthcare services, Great Opportunities offers peace-of-mind to family caregivers and a safe, nurturing environment for participants.

Carole, loved life, cherished being with others, enjoyed dancing, singing, and field trips---activities she was able to continue participating in throughout her three years with Great Opportunities. The care, attention, and friendship she received from staff and volunteers at Great Opportunities became the genesis of “Apples for Alzheimer’s” as a means to raise awareness for Alzheimer’s and funds for Great Opportunities.

“Great Opportunities means a lot to me,” commented Margot. “Knowing they were taking good care of my grandma, she was happy here. She enjoyed herself. Great Opportunities makes a difficult situation better for people.”

Till Death Do Us Part... Revisited

For older adults living with cognitive and health related concerns, the Geneva Foundation offers Great Opportunities Adult Day Services. Serving as a respite for family caretakers, Great Opportunities is a haven for loved ones living with cognitive, physical or behavioral conditions, who need specialized and chaperoned care. A variety of services, activities, and therapies are offered to encourage mobility, community, and independence. All of which are administered by trained staff and professionals, in a loving, safe, supportive and compassionate environment.

I often think about how different my grandparents’ lives might be had they a Great Opportunities near their home in NY…

On February 4, 2010, my grandparents celebrated their 61st wedding anniversary. Sixty-one years ago, dressed in a hand-me-down gown and a rented suit, they stood before family, friends, and church to commit their lives to one another. “For richer, for poorer. For better, for worse. In sickness and in health. Till death do us part.” A promise lived and kept throughout their married life.

Two years ago, shortly after their 59th wedding anniversary, my grandmother fell during a brief period of time home alone and broken a hip. With Alzheimer’s advancing, she was uncertain what had happened. All she was able to remember when family returned from the store was that she “somehow ended up on the floor”. This began a 3 month stay in a rehab center for treatment and therapy.

Shortly before her discharge, my grandfather was presented with a terribly difficult decision: locate a facility that specializes in Alzheimer’s care, or provide for all medical services associated with her care at home---care not covered by my grandfather’s insurance provider; care that would necessitate the presence of skilled nursing personnel 15 hours a day.

During the course of a ten-minute conversation and a stack of brochures and paperwork, my grandfather’s life changed forever.

The choice my grandfather had to make centered around two issues: arranging the best care for my grandmother and the financial ability to afford that care. To pay for the number of home-health providers needed to care appropriately for my grandmother would drain what meager, but hard earned retirement funds had accrued over the years in much less time than it took to accumulate. After a long and difficult process, my grandfather had no choice but to place my grandmother in a Medicaid accepting nursing home.

I say all that to say this: as I reflect on the strenuous and emotional rollercoaster ride that has forced itself upon my family the past few years, I am thankful for the work of the Geneva Foundation---and I am grateful for the peace of mind provided by Great Opportunities Adult Day Service program.

I am thankful for what a place like Great Opportunities means to older adults in the Chicago area who are just like my grandma and grandpa: people who worked hard all their lives, lived within their means, scrimped, saved, passed along family traditions and raised families. Men and women who planned for retirement only to find you can never fully plan for the unintended surprises life drops in your lap—like Alzheimer’s or rising healthcare costs in spite of static monthly Social Security checks.

As I come back to the thought of how different my grandparents’ lives might be had they a Great Opportunities near their home in NY, the questions that come to mind include, like the residents of G.O., would my grandma thrive in a setting that offered personalized one-on-one care? Would my family still be able to gather at the home to which we’ve gathered for every holiday I can remember since birth? Would my grandma continue to spend every evening in the place she had lived for over 40 years? Would the house that feels so empty and lonely now to my grandpa still be the place they share and call home, together? For those who benefit from services provided by Great Opportunities, the answer is a grateful, “yes.”

~ Susan

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