| Age Makes No Difference |
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Athena dashes into the health center, brimming with anticipation. If Beryl is dozing when Athena and her mother arrive, she quickly wakes up when someone says, “Beryl, Athena is here.” They play balloon volleyball, work puzzles, sing together, and simply enjoy one-on-one time together. Athena’s grandmother, Alice Cooper, who is the health center’s receptionist and in charge of residents’ medical records, explains, “Sometimes they take little walks down the hall together, Beryl in her wheel chair and Athena walking alongside.” Besides Beryl, Athena enjoys another special friendship in the health care center. She and Walt Gaibler are golfing buddies. They take turns practicing their skills on the mini-putting green. He claps when she makes a hole-in-one, and affirms as he smiles, “She’s my friend. I love her.” |
Friendship between Beryl Woodward, born in 1905, and Athena Bourne, born in 2005, knows no age difference. The two good friends get together several times a month in Friendsview’s health care center. Angela, Athena’s mother, says, “She loves to come here.”