Resident Finds Encouragement To Become Truly Happy
By Michelle Dinan
Andrew "Andy" Oros moved to Franklin Park with his wife, Linda, more than five years ago. In that time, we have had the pleasure of seeing Andy grow and become a mentor to his fellow residents.
Andy was born May 5, 1934, and spent his childhood in Michigan. After high school, he enlisted in the Air Force and spent 1954 to 1972 serving our country and helped fight the Korean and Vietnam wars. He was awarded the Sharpshooter Medal.
After his time in the military, Andy returned to Denver. Using skills he learned in the Air Force and his love of cooking, he spent 23 years as a cook.
A Love Story
The most important part of Andy's life, however, was realized 32 years ago when he took Linda's hand in marriage after meeting her at a job site. Throughout my interview with Andy, his comments returned to Linda over and over.
"What do you appreciate the most about life?" I asked. "Waking up and seeing Linda every day," he responded.
"What would you do if you won a million dollars?"
"Stay here at Franklin Park and split the money with Linda."
"What is the most important thing to you?"
"Being married."
Linda, who sat in on the interview, chimed in repeatedly with words of affection for Andy, mentioning several times how much he helps and loves her. Their dedication to each other eventually brought them to Franklin Park where they share a room and most moments of the day together.
Life-Changing Progress
This isn't a love story as it may seem, though. It is a path to show the progress Andy has made in the past five years with the support and love from his wife as well as the community at Franklin Park.
Andy and Linda have lived in several other long-term care communities. Although they had each other and got their basic needs met, they didn't find the support and encouragement they really needed to be truly happy and able to improve their quality of life.
When Andy first moved to Franklin Park, he spent a lot of time in his room and participated minimally in the life of the community. It didn't take long, however, for Andy to realize Franklin Park was different.
In the past few years, Andy has become a needed and relied on part of our community. His favorite quote is: "Treat others how you want to be treated." Andy demonstrates this daily with his constant help and support of the other residents. He teaches others how to play the Wii, goes shopping for his wife and helps residents get what they need. He takes pride in making the morning announcements of the day's activities and special events.
Andy feels empowered to make things right and is grateful for the assistance staff give him and Linda. The person Andy most admired in history was "Tricky Dick" Nixon. His reason was that he stood up for what he believed in, much like Andy does now.
We are grateful that Andy is a part of our community here at Franklin Park, and for the help and humor he brings to the staff and residents.
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