The Story of Oscar and Mary

Oscar and Mary have been married for 56 years.  He is retired from working in a cotton gin and she is a retired homemaker.  They have 4 children, 14 grandchildren and 3 great grandchildren.  They love each other, they love their family and friends and they dearly love their community.  They’ve always been very active in their church, they can hardly wait for the annual cotton festival – Oscar is head judge in the First Baptist Church’s pie cook off and Mary absolutely hates to miss her weekly canasta group.  Until recently, Oscar met with the other retired farmers at the café every Friday morning.  Because they are retired, they met at 6:30 a.m., after the young guys have already gone.  They enjoy their life in their community, where they’ve lived throughout their entire marriage.

Being 81 and 80, Oscar and Mary have their share of ailments.  His hearing and skin cancers, her eyesight, but until recently, the ailments weren’t too bad to hide from their children.  Unfortunately, Oscar has been having some fairly major health problems lately.  He’s been getting dizzy and with his right knee weakened from a slip on the ice last winter, sometimes it’ll just give out and down he goes.  He’s fallen so many times; Mary is worried that next time he’ll hit his head.  She’s also worried that soon she will not be able to help him get up.  Two falls ago, she hurt her back (and his shoulder) straining to help him get up off of the floor.  They are both very afraid to tell their sons and daughter. Because they’re sure Oscar’s dizzy spells and falls will be way too much for the children to handle.  They’ve already been talking about Oscar and Mary moving into a nursing home, where they say, their parents can get the help they need.

Wouldn’t it be nice if Oscar and Mary could get the help they need and continue living in their own home?  In January 2010, they can.  La Paloma, Lubbock’s first and only Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) will open its doors to help people just like Oscar and Mary.  According to Carson Scott, Director of La Paloma, “Our services will revolutionize health care for seniors in the Lubbock community.  We will have an adult day activity center, a full service medical clinic and a daily activity Specialty Care Unit for people with dementia or Alzheimer’s.  We think La Paloma will be just the thing many families want and need.  We want to help people stay in their own homes, to enjoy the lives they’ve built.”

Come see the future of health care for seniors in Lubbock.  For education about the services La Paloma will offer, please call Carson Scott at 806-766-0360.

*Although Oscar and Mary are not real people, their story is all too real for many families.  Please call for information about how La Paloma can help you, your parents, your sister, your uncle…