Category: Stories

When Bob and his wife Meg were referred to Lifespark, their physician felt every day was a struggle for them. On the roller coaster of crises, Meg had been in and out of the hospital multiple times, with each hospitalization adding to their mounting health care costs and emotional trauma while slowly robbing Meg of […]

Sparking lives doesn’t happen overnight. There’s a process that takes place before you open yourself up to another person and trust them with your wishes, goals and fears about aging. Mary Schenach has formed a bond with her Life Care Manager, Vicki, that has changed their relationship from nurse to ‘surrogate daughter.’ Mary says of […]

Betty Kobilka lives in Reflections, the memory care unit at Summit Place. She meets with her group of friends in the unit often because she enjoys their company. She’s always been outgoing and a well-dressed woman who paid attention to her appearance – a real fashionista. It’s not as easy as it once was for […]

Rollie and Doris are husband and wife, an active couple throughout their 68 years of marriage. Ping pong games, swimming, faith, love – these are what motivated them to be a strong team together. At 91 and 93, they are discovering that some of the activities they used to love are still possible with a […]

Mel Michiels is an Air Force veteran. While in the Air Force, Mel worked in North Africa preparing bombers.  He was an airplane mechanic, flight instructor, pilot, painted planes and he did sheet metal work. His spark? He is very proud of the fact that he painted a plane for a famous racer named Steve […]

Erna Collins had a health scare that nearly cost her life. Three years later, Erna is getting ready to celebrate her 98th birthday in October and attended a family reunion this past summer. How? Lifespark, helped create a new pathway. Mary, a nurse who is Erna’s Life Care Manager, visits Erna weekly, monitoring her health […]

There’s one thing Beverly Urness never forgets: playing the piano. Over the past 40 years, Beverly has taught piano to more than 100 students. In recent years, though, living independently had become a challenge to Beverly as her dementia progressed. Today, she’s a Lifespark client, living with dementia in the Memory Care community at Summit […]

With fire in her personality, Maxine Tenney has passion in her life and she has no plans to waste it. According to Maxine’s Lifespark Life Care Manager (LCM), Maxine has memory loss which is what initially brought her to the Reflections community at the Brightondale campus, a Silver Crest property, where Lifespark partners with SilverCrest […]

At 96, Evelyn Macy sparked her life by getting her ears pierced. But getting there was not a straight path. Kristine, a registered nurse who has been Evelyn’s Life Care Manager for the past three years, shared that Evelyn is a stoic and serious woman. As part of the regular Lifespark Experience discovery, Kristine learned […]