Watching Roy compete at the World Championship Spark Challenge this past December was cause for celebration—not only because his phenomenal performance on the arm crank ergometer helped take his team to victory, but because this octogenarian athlete had been on hospice just a few months earlier.
According to Wendy Zimmerman, Director of Community Life at Cedar Creek Senior Living, Roy’s transformation is a testament to the power of community. “We talk a lot about strength, purpose, and belonging, and how they’re essential to aging magnificently, and I genuinely believe that’s what gave Roy the will to live,” she said.
Running on empty
The years leading up to Roy’s move to the Lifespark community had taken a toll on his physical and mental health. “I’d been taking care of my wife at home full time, feeding her, bathing her, and changing her diaper, until finally, the doctor said she had to go to a nursing home to get better care,” he said. After reluctantly moving his wife to a skilled nursing facility, he continued to live in the home the couple had shared for 25 years. He was grieving the tragic death of his other adult child when his wife died.
“I wasn’t getting proper food or rest, and I fell a couple of times and had to have my neighbor come over to help me up, and that worried my son enough to look for a place where I could get care,” he said. By the time Roy moved to the Lifespark Senior Living community in February 2024, he’d become so weak and frail that his condition was considered life-limiting. He enrolled in Lifespark Hospice, choosing to stay in in his bathrobe, watch TV in his apartment, and eat his meals alone.
From bathrobe to barbells
Wendy first met Roy about six weeks later, not long after she’d started her new job. “He had come down to the pub in his bathrobe and was really angry that he’d never been to a Happy Hour, but he ended up talking with one of our chaplains about things that were troubling him,” she said. “After that, I started pestering him to join us for group activities—not successfully at first, but I was relentless.”
Eventually, Wendy convinced Roy to check out the TRYathlon, a series of competitive events involving teams from 40+ Lifespark Senior Living communities, all vying for top place. “Even though we were halfway through the seven-week challenge, Roy started coming to practice sessions and meets—wearing pants and a Cedar Creek Cheetahs team t-shirt,” she said.
The TRYathlon is one of four annual Spark Performance Games, each running for about ten weeks, including pre-season practice sessions, seven weeks of competitions and a week of scrimmages, followed by play-offs and the World Championship. Launched in 2022, the Spark Performance League was the brainchild of Dr. Bill Thomas, nationally renowned geriatrician, author, and Lifespark Independence Officer, who believes that aging is a team sport. “When you shift your focus from decline, disease, and disability to strength, purpose, and belonging, amazing things can happen,” he said.
Team player
When Roy learned that the next Spark Performance was National Forklift Racing, his interest was sparked. “I didn’t drive forklifts, but I was in construction, so it fit right in with what I used to do,” he said. After just a few practices, he became one of his team’s ace players. Instead of eating lunch and dinner alone in his room, he started coming to the dining room. “It got easier for me to sit down with people because they were my teammates now,” Roy said.
According to Dr. Thomas, belonging happens when we can be ourselves with other people.
“We all have different strengths and weaknesses, passions and gifts, and even irritating quirks,” he said. “We want everyone to bring their individuality into the group because that’s where a sense of belonging comes from.”
Too healthy for hospice
Over the next six months, Roy’s health had improved so radically that he no longer needed to be on hospice. “Once I got established with regular meals, rather than having to pick something up for myself, like a peanut butter sandwich, I started to feel better health-wise,” he said. He was also much stronger, thanks to the team workouts and competitions. But just as important to Roy’s physical health was his circle of friends.
“I’m very happy to have as many friends as I’ve got here,” he said. “Competing with other people in my same situation, cheering them on and congratulating each other, and then celebrating together afterwards, it’s all I can ask for.”
Wendy continues to be his biggest cheerleader. “How many people can say they graduated from hospice? Not many,” she said. “It’s just so inspiring to watch someone go from spending his days in a bathrobe to being a part of this community.”
To learn how Lifespark helps people age magnificently, visit Lifespark.com.
