Best Friends Day Center is an adult day care facility in Lexington, Kentucky for people who have been diagnosed with dementia or alzheimer’s. Best Friends is part of a larger, national organization called the ‘Alzheimer’s Association,’ whose goal is to provide care for adults with mental diseases nationwide. Best Friends provides a private and pleasant apartment for all their residents, while also offering assisted living from caregivers.
While doing research, I discovered that Best Friends is a faith-based facility and works in conjunction with a Christian Care community called Bridgepointe at Ashgrove Woods.
The Christian Care community was founded in 1884 and is currently supported by over 230 churches in the Lexington area. Each year, Bridgepointe claims to serve over 3,000 older adults with their program and to enhance the journey of life and faith for all their adults. This really excited me, as I’m looking forward to talking to the adults about their faith. I believe the best way to learn something about life is to talk with those who have been through it already. Job 12:12 states, “Is not wisdom found among the aged? Does not long life bring understanding?” There is a lot of wisdom to be gained from elders, and I am blessed with the opportunity to be around them every week at Best Friends. Often times while people are serving others, they receive something intangible, but very special, for themselves. As the trips to the Best Friends accumulate, I hope to learn more about myself and how I can make a difference in society. I sincerely believe that this will be a very beneficial experience for me.
The reason I chose to volunteer at Best Friends is because my grandpa on my mother’s side had dementia and unfortunately passed away back in May. My grandpa was a great man who didn’t deserve to have such an awful disease afflict him. No one deserves to be hurt by alzheimer’s, and I want to help as many adults at Best Friends as I can, even if it’s just making someone smile on a rough day. Sometimes people run away from taking care of adults with alzheimer’s because it can be difficult to be around them, but after dealing with my grandpa, I found that all he wanted was love and compassion rather than frustration or anger. I saw my grandpa go through the entire process of dealing with dementia. Every month he would forget more and more of his life, and he would repeat questions every 5 minutes. Alzheimer’s is a very depressing disease, but I’m hoping to bring some positivity, laughter, and love to Best Friends Day Center.
Websites:
Address:
5220 Grey Oak Lane
Nicholasville, KY 40356
I really liked that you provided some background information about the organization since many people have never heard of it before. Also, it was very helpful that you were able to tie together the organization to a personal experience in your life.
ReplyDeleteI really liked the quote that you included in your post, as well as the information you included about how to contact and learn more about the organization. I also lost a grandfather to dementia, so your post was very relatable for me.
ReplyDeleteI really loved your title. I drew my attention to your article and the presentation of your pictures and other information showed you did good research on your establishment. I am a Christian and appreciated your inclusion of your additional excitement for your volunteering. I also liked your choice to include your personal experience with your grandfather; I am so sorry to see that he passed away. Overall, very good article and great writing!!!!
ReplyDeleteI really enjoy the quote that you placed in your post, it made the post more human and it made you more relatable. The background information made it easier to understand what Best Friends is all about. The personal information made it more of a personal post and it made your experience relatable to me, because I understand what it is like to have someone you love affected by Alzheimer's.
ReplyDeleteThank you all for your comments! I'm glad you all appreciated the personal relation I have to dementia, as it was difficult to include in a public post. I encourage you all to watch my latest video about my first visit. It was interesting to say the least.
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