Cecilia's "Scholarship"
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Cecilia’s Assisted Living “Scholarship”
“Do you think there could be a scholarship for people like me?”
Cecilia’s question broke my heart. How could I confirm my 94-year-old friend’s worst fears?
But there are no scholarships that cover assisted living expenses. I’ve checked.
And her rapidly dwindling savings means Cecilia has only enough money to cover two more months in the place that has become home since a broken shoulder abruptly ended her independence.
Born in 1924, Cecilia never married. Instead, she worked from her teens into her seventies as an executive secretary, a position that brought her much fulfillment but only a small retirement. Resilient, funny, prayerful, and as stubborn as only the Irish can be, she has outlived all her siblings except a sister whose own health issues prevent her from providing any assistance.
Well-meaning friends tell me Cecilia is not my responsibility. Let her go on Medicaid, move her into a nursing home, they say, not ungently.
I can’t bring myself to do that. Perhaps because I can so easily imagine a not-too-distant-future me facing a similar dilemma. Or perhaps because I so vividly recall the Cecilia of forty years ago helping my tearful sister memorize the Memorare by acting it out, complete with flapping arms: “I fly unto thee . . .”
I at least have to try to help Cecilia live out her declining years in the home she’s come to love, with people who treat her with respect and care for her needs with equal compassion and skill.
By God’s grace and the amazing generosity of some good folks, Cecilia received enough funds to stay at her assisted living home from September 2018-19. For September 2019-20, she will need an additional $4,255 to supplement the amount already committed by her monthly donors. Raising another $4255 (100% of which goes directly to pay her assisted living costs) will allow her to stay in her home worry-free for 12 months.
Will you help us make Cecilia’s “scholarship” a reality by funding the additional $354/month for the next year?
Thank you in advance on Cecilia’s behalf. May the Lord bless you for your generosity!
“Do you think there could be a scholarship for people like me?”
Cecilia’s question broke my heart. How could I confirm my 94-year-old friend’s worst fears?
But there are no scholarships that cover assisted living expenses. I’ve checked.
And her rapidly dwindling savings means Cecilia has only enough money to cover two more months in the place that has become home since a broken shoulder abruptly ended her independence.
Born in 1924, Cecilia never married. Instead, she worked from her teens into her seventies as an executive secretary, a position that brought her much fulfillment but only a small retirement. Resilient, funny, prayerful, and as stubborn as only the Irish can be, she has outlived all her siblings except a sister whose own health issues prevent her from providing any assistance.
Well-meaning friends tell me Cecilia is not my responsibility. Let her go on Medicaid, move her into a nursing home, they say, not ungently.
I can’t bring myself to do that. Perhaps because I can so easily imagine a not-too-distant-future me facing a similar dilemma. Or perhaps because I so vividly recall the Cecilia of forty years ago helping my tearful sister memorize the Memorare by acting it out, complete with flapping arms: “I fly unto thee . . .”
I at least have to try to help Cecilia live out her declining years in the home she’s come to love, with people who treat her with respect and care for her needs with equal compassion and skill.
By God’s grace and the amazing generosity of some good folks, Cecilia received enough funds to stay at her assisted living home from September 2018-19. For September 2019-20, she will need an additional $4,255 to supplement the amount already committed by her monthly donors. Raising another $4255 (100% of which goes directly to pay her assisted living costs) will allow her to stay in her home worry-free for 12 months.
Will you help us make Cecilia’s “scholarship” a reality by funding the additional $354/month for the next year?
Thank you in advance on Cecilia’s behalf. May the Lord bless you for your generosity!
Organizer and beneficiary
Lisa Ferguson
Organizer
Steubenville, OH
Cecilia McCarry
Beneficiary
