Success Stories

Barbara Hayes used to be afraid to sleep in her own bed for fear she’d stop breathing and not wake up. Her doctor told her she stopped breathing 20 times in one night. So, she moved to her living room recliner to try to ease her sleep apnea. During the day, she wasn’t herself. “I…

Ask Mary her secret to living to be 109, and she’ll pause for a minute to think about it. Not because she has trouble speaking, it’s just that she’s not really sure the secret to her longevity. “Well, I had to work, and had good health, good parents and good kids,” she said. Plus, she…

At three and a half months old, Annalise had her first seizure. “We didn’t know what it was, so we took her to Riley,” said Annalise’s mom, Myriam. The doctors at Riley Hospital for Children ordered a CT scan. While Myriam and her husband, Sean, were anxiously waiting on the results, Annalise had another seizure,…

People don’t know how strong they are until they have to be. “I’ve been lifting her every day since she was born, so I’ve been growing with her. She’s not heavy to me,” Sherry said. Sherry is speaking about her 10-year-old daughter, Robyn, who is three feet tall and weighs 45 pounds. When Sherry first…

“Things are stressful, so it may be small, but it means the world,” Cindy said. “It makes you get your own troubles out of your head for a little bit.” Cindy was sitting in her recliner where she spends the better part of each day, talking to her care manager. In her lap was a…

Mimi Ventresca was enjoying life in San Diego. She’d retired after working more than 30 years for the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs, so she spent time in the sunshine, hanging out with friends, walking her dog, going to the gym and taking it easy. That all changed in December 2009 when her mother suffered…

Jimmie Luton celebrated her 100th birthday this year, and she’ll admit, she doesn’t get around quite as well as she used to. She welcomed volunteers into her home in Martindale-Brightwood in Indianapolis on Sept. 30 for CICOA Aging & In-Home Solutions’ annual Safe at Home event. Volunteers built a ramp, installed a grab bar and an…

When Jane had her first child 27 years ago, she wasn’t prepared for what followed. Her son, Brandon, was born without legs or arms. It’s such a rare congenital condition, there is no name for it. At first, she could think only about what Brandon wouldn’t be able to do. But quickly, she and her…

When Jeff’s daughter Emma was born, he prepared for the worst. He knew Emma had holoprosencephaly, and that babies with this brain defect typically live only a few weeks or sometimes months. Emma beat those odds. She’s now 10. She goes to school for a few hours twice week, and a teacher comes to the…

Julia doesn’t like to think what her life would be like if she didn’t have CICOA’s Way2Go transportation service. Julia, 73, not only is concerned about taking care of her own needs, but she also cares for her 75-year-old brother. Thanks to the transportation assistance, she’s able to get to their doctor appointments, the grocery…