Success Stories

Natalie is the definition of irrepressible. She views spinal muscular atrophy, the genetic disease that affects her central nervous system and requires her to use a wheelchair, as just another one of the challenges she thrives on tackling. Natalie runs her own web-design business, is an elite-level power soccer player and travels the world in…

After Shirley’s divorce in the 1990s, she and her twin sister, Verlie, bought a house together in Perry Township. Now at age 76, they don’t get around as well as they once did. Verlie has spinal issues. Shirley has Alzheimer’s. “One of my biggest concerns is falls,” said Shirley’s daughter, Courtney, who regularly stops by…

Ask Alice McGinnis, who turned 105 this summer, about the secret to her longevity. “I never get in a hurry,” she says. Today, Alice likes to listen to books on tape. She could write her own book, given all she has experienced and accomplished. But throughout her life, Alice has been determined to look forward…

Linda Daily remembers her parents working circles around her in the garden. She hated all the planting, weeding and picking, but it was a way of life for her Depression-era parents.    “My family was the same,” Linda’s husband, Richard, chimed in. “I have four older sisters, and we were always fighting over food.”  Richard’s dad planted a huge garden in the…

Hearing aids in, Mable, 92, answered her phone. Although her hearing is dulled with age, her mind remains sharp, her laughter quick. Today, Mable lives alone on Indy’s northwest side. She was married to her husband for 60-plus years when he passed in 2007, and she has one son, three grandchildren and a supportive extended…

For families, peace of mind means everything. Among the many resources CICOA provides, the knowledge and guidance of experienced professionals helps ease the journey for family caregivers like Andrea. Andrea’s mother, Silvera, 80, and aunt Betty, 83, live with her and her husband, Scott, in the Liberty Creek neighborhood on Indianapolis’ west side. Andrea, 52,…

For more than eight decades, Janice has made ends meet. It’s not always been easy, especially as a single mom. But last summer, Janice knew she could no longer could do it alone. At 82, she returned to Indianapolis from southern Indiana, where she had cared for a terminally ill son. Her social security check barely…

Roger never expected his daughter would one day become his caregiver, but then again, this former blackbelt and martial arts teacher never thought he’d need one. That was his job. He’s been the caregiver for family members over the years, and when his mom, Lena, 82, needed him because of her advancing Alzheimer’s disease, he…

For Nancy, 71, this Thanksgiving and Christmas will look different than in years past. She is facing the holiday season alone without Steve, her husband of 47 years, a career Army man who died in July. “That made me mad, because I was supposed to die first, not my husband,” Nancy fumed. “I’ve had three…