The Age Guide: Perspectives on the Aging Journey

Behind Closed Doors: A Woman's Escape from Long Term Care

• Age Guide • Season 1 • Episode 3

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Margorie Logman is a long-time resident of Aurora, IL. At first glance she looks like the picture of successful aging in community, living in her own home and enjoying the freedom to get involved and give back to her community. But Marjorie’s path to community living wasn’t always smooth. At the age of 73, Marjorie is on a mission to disrupt long-term care because of her own harrowing experience living in a facility for several years where she experienced the failures of a broken system of care. Marjorie has become such a vocal advocate for older adults that she is somewhat of a local celebrity in her own right, participating in city council meetings, writing opinion pieces and speaking out about social justice issues. In this third podcast in our series on long-term care, we will hear Marjorie’s personal account of the state of long-term care and the plight of residents. This episode covers a time period just prior to the COVID-19 outbreak and helps explain how already existing problems in nursing homes set the stage for the deadly crisis that occurred when the pandemic hit. #theageguidepodcast  #caregiving #COVID-19 #pandemic #longtermcare #advocacy

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SPEAKER_00:

Hello and welcome to The Age Guide, perspectives on the aging journey. We are here to be your personal age guide and enhance your quality of life on the road ahead. At Age Guide, it's our mission to be a vital resource and advocate for people as we age by providing thoughtful guidance, supportive services, and meaningful connections. This podcast is about putting a face on aging and giving a voice to older adults and caregivers by highlighting their experiences and stories. We want to provide a window into the struggles and joys of aging to dispel myths and combat ageism. Marjorie Logman is a longtime resident of Aurora, Illinois. At first glance, she looks like the picture of successful aging, living in her own home, enjoying the freedom to get involved and give back to her community. But Marjorie's path to community living wasn't always smooth. At the age of 73, Marjorie is on a mission to disrupt long-term care because of her own harrowing experience living in a facility for several years where she experienced the failures of a broken system of care. Marjorie has become such a vocal advocate for older adults that she is somewhat of a local celebrity in her own right. participating in city council meetings, writing opinion pieces, and speaking out about social justice issues. In this, our third podcast in our series on long-term care, we will hear Marjorie's personal account of the state of long-term care and the plight of residents highlights why these changes created a crisis when the pandemic hit, exacerbating these already existing problems. Let's listen in. As Marjorie tells her story.

SPEAKER_02:

All right. Well, Margie, it's so nice to meet you in person. Yeah, to see you. To see you in person. We've met virtually many times on Zoom meetings. So thank you for having us here to your lovely home. It's a pleasure to be here today. And I would just like to get to know you a little bit first and to let our listeners know who you are and a little bit about you. Okay.

SPEAKER_01:

My name is Margie Logman. And I am from this area. I was born and raised in Batavia. My great grandparents came to Batavia in 1888. Wow. And then I grew up there, went to school in Batavia and Aurora, went to Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska. Oh, so you left Illinois for a while. Left Illinois. And there I met my husband in Omaha, my future husband. who is from Aurora, but I met him in Omaha. And we graduated. He was four years older, so he was in dental school. I was in elementary education. We graduated in 1970 and came back to Aurora where he opened his dental practice. And we lived here and raised three wonderful children who are in their 40s now here in Aurora. And in 2011, he passed away. And so I'm here now, and I am 73, and all my family members are gone, and my husband. I do have my children. But I tried to turn it to say there is a reason I'm still here, and they're not, rather than saying, woe is me, why am I still here? But they're There is a purpose. You have work to do still. Right. And in my early 60s, I started to decline. Our family did have mental and physical illness in my heritage. And things started to get caught up with me. And I was finding solace in the medical system. because they would give you comfort and understanding. I ended up with almost four or almost five different doctors with specialists. And by December of 2010, I was on 22 prescription medications, including morphine by prescription that I could get whenever I wanted. And a fentanyl patch. Wow, 22

SPEAKER_02:

medications.

SPEAKER_01:

What happened, they started giving me antidepressants, which caused symptoms of other things. And then, of course, my body with all this medication went in pain. So they started shooting me with morphine. And I just became a vegetable. Wow. And, you know, with no hope. And so far from reality, because I was way inside with all this medication. Right. And December of 2010, I had gallbladder surgery. Okay. And it was very difficult, a lot of pain. And I'll never forget, it was close to Christmas, and the nurse said, don't send her out of here, she's too sick. But he signed the papers, and I ended up in Aurora. Okay. to recover. And I got there and it was very traumatic for me, you know, to move and be so sick and be so disoriented.

SPEAKER_02:

So you had been living in the community, although you had a lot of medical health issues at the time because of all the medication. Then you had a gallbladder surgery and you needed to go into rehab for a while before you could go back to your home in the community.

SPEAKER_01:

Correct.

SPEAKER_02:

So you went to a long-term care facility. Yes. and you were supposed to be getting rehab there. So tell us about that. I

SPEAKER_01:

was supposed to be getting rehab there. And what happened, I started advocating for myself and for other people there because what was going on was just not acceptable. At one time I was in the community room And in the community room, I could see how dehydrated all these people were, unnecessarily. And in my illness, in a huge wheelchair, I went to Human Resources, and I used the Bible. And I said, Jesus says in the Bible, if you deny even one of these little ones a cup of water, you will be in trouble with the father. Get these people some water. And it convicted the lady, and she went around with a pitcher and gave these people water. And why they don't like to do that, because then they go to the bathroom.

SPEAKER_02:

Then they need to be changed.

SPEAKER_01:

But I just saw people who were hardly cognizant, just their mouths open and just a light come on in them. Also, while I was in there, I was put in a ward room with three other women.

SPEAKER_02:

So you were staying in a room that had three beds?

SPEAKER_01:

Four beds. Oh, four beds. It was almost like a big dorm room. But those are the kind of things that we occurred. I was in the room, moved to a room with one other lady. and they left awful television on with the remotes out of our reach. And she was screaming and crying and the nurses would not come. And it was just, and then if I would speak up, I always felt like I was Oliver. Remember in the movie when he said, we need more gruel? And I would speak up and then all of a sudden, if they would have a community thing, oh, sorry, we forgot you. Or we've run out of dessert. Or you really don't need physical therapy.

SPEAKER_02:

So they would start to take things away from you as a consequence for your speaking

SPEAKER_01:

out. For my speaking out. And one time at that specific place, they threatened a mental institution that they were going to put me in because they could do that. And then what happens is to me and in those places, they will call your family. Well, we know best because we're the experts. And that's so easy. Mother doesn't know because she's sick, but we know because we have this education. And that's how they can get away with things.

SPEAKER_02:

Right. You're in a really vulnerable position when you're in an institutionalized setting like that.

SPEAKER_01:

Right. And that's what I think is the worst thing is because you are so vulnerable because you're sick. And not everyone has that kind of voice. And one time they put all the people who were just so sick and they pushed them around in beds rather than putting them in a wheelchair and put them in the room with the most awful television on. And these people were almost paralyzed. And I climbed up there, couldn't find a remote. I just unplugged the TV And those people that were so sick started clapping.

SPEAKER_02:

Because

SPEAKER_01:

all they wanted was peace.

SPEAKER_02:

Peace and quiet and there were violent shows on and things they didn't

SPEAKER_01:

want to see in their face. And especially in that place, it wasn't the cries of being in pain. It was the cries of desperation that stuck with me for years. And so there is that different cry. that cry of being sick. While I was there, in there, my husband had gotten quite ill. And he would call me going back and forth and say, I'll be there in a minute if you need me. And the other time he'd call me and say, where are you? I can't find you. He was desperately sick. And what happened is I didn't hear from him. All of a sudden, you didn't hear from

SPEAKER_02:

him for a while?

SPEAKER_01:

So I called 911.

SPEAKER_02:

Okay.

SPEAKER_01:

And what happened is I called and said, I haven't heard back from you. They called back, and I'm on the phone in the hallway of the nursing home, and the policeman said he is deceased. There are papers on the table. Are any of them important?

SPEAKER_02:

Wow, so they did a wellness check. They went to his house. He didn't answer, so they went in, and they found him deceased.

SPEAKER_01:

And that's how they told me. And I hung up, and there was no consolation. Why are you crying in the hallway? You know, you're disturbing others. And no compassion, no compassion at all. I was able to get a hold of my kids, but that was just... Yeah. Wow. Devastating. And I did find in physical therapy, the head of the physical therapy was a different entity in there. He knew what I was going through, and he let me stay in there.

SPEAKER_02:

In the physical therapy room?

SPEAKER_01:

Oh, she needs more therapy when I was totally done. And also, I mean, to show my desperation, I found a storage room. a patient room they weren't using, and I used to hide out in there just to get away. So that was just one place.

SPEAKER_02:

Was that because you needed just some space where you could be by yourself, or they were literally intruding in your personal space when you were

SPEAKER_01:

out? The aides would get after me and threaten me. You know, if you say anything more, we're taking bathroom privileges away. You know, I'd be threatened a lot. I found one aide who would almost have to in secret help me out and bring me food and things like that. And then I had to get away from it. I couldn't stand seeing what happened to these other people in there. I see. And how they were treating them. And if someone cried out, maybe in their sickness, desperation, or sometimes if you're moving into dementia, you tend to yell a lot. Right. Just telling them to shut up. And being so... Everybody just shut up. And to see that happen... Her name was Jane. And I just said, Jane, Jane, Jane, just... Quiet down. Everything's okay. Quiet down. And she would, but who's yelling in this dining room? Just shut up now. Wow. And then when they would have inspections or people come in, they'd make sure that the sick people were locked in their rooms so only the healthier ones would be out to showcase. So the

SPEAKER_02:

inspectors didn't see... The worst cases and what was really going on.

SPEAKER_01:

What was happening. So it was difficult. And then it was hard also because then well-meaning people, even around our age, would come to sing to us and bring little bags from the dollar store. We don't need songs and a bag from the dollar store because somebody brought us the same stuff last week. We need help and we need fresh food. and vegetables and maybe a good brownie. Right. And I don't disparage them, but that was their thought process. You know, we're here, you know, to bless you. And we're like, We need more than that.

SPEAKER_02:

Right. People just assume, I think, that these institutions are taking care of people well and that everything is going to be fine in there and you just need some company or somebody to come in and visit you. But you were seeing a lot more than that. You had a lot more needs.

SPEAKER_01:

Yes. And then if you did, especially in that facility, if even to your children, said something and you knew you weren't getting out you knew what was gonna happen during the night when you couldn't call. You knew what was gonna happen and it was gonna come down harder on you.

SPEAKER_02:

What was gonna happen?

SPEAKER_01:

Well, sometimes they'd hold back medication. Really? Or they'd give you like a glass of water and put it where you can't reach it or deny your bathroom privileges, just not answer when you want to go to the bathroom. and need help, all of a sudden, oh gosh, we forgot you. I guess your button isn't working. And then limit your food. Wow. So it's really a hard situation to speak up into. And in that place, you know, what can we do? Who's going to believe us over this doctor that was coming in? at night, tormenting people. And then you're sick. You're there because you're sick. It's not like having a healthy group of people being able to speak out. And some of these people, I mean, I was so drugged, and so are they.

SPEAKER_02:

And

SPEAKER_01:

so that was just that one experience.

SPEAKER_02:

Wow. So what kinds of things were you speaking out about?

SPEAKER_01:

I was speaking out that you should not be yelling at people. You should not be dehydrating them. You should not take people confined to these rolling beds and shoving the beds around and shoving them into one room. And this place should not smell like this. Just human decency.

UNKNOWN:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01:

And I did talk to human resources about giving people water and saw them do that. But then I was sick and I got into self-survival mode. I mean, there was one man that was going through what I did, so I showed him the storage room where he could hide. So you get into survival mode. And I did speak up for Jane and said, stop it, you're torturing

SPEAKER_02:

her. Yes. Who were you able to talk to? Who could you get your message to?

SPEAKER_01:

The only one I could get a message to, I did try to talk to the executive director of the place. I did try to talk to some aides. The lady in human resources was kind of, I know, but I don't know what to do about it. There were some that were under conviction but did not have the moral courage to do something about it. And then people would come and you try to explain it. People who are well on the outside and come in and they're kind of like, they're there. You know, settle down, dear. Be grateful for what you have. Even to the fact you could be out on the streets or down at the homeless shelter. Be grateful that you're here and thankful. And we'll pray for you and bring you a bag from the dollar store and just, you know, relax and be fine. And you just can't get through to people or it's just your negative outlook. You know, all the things that can be right in some situations, but when you're trying to say, no, this is bad.

SPEAKER_02:

Right.

SPEAKER_01:

It's really hard. And I saw that all along the way. It's like, I got nobody to get me out of here. I have to be here. So go in survival mode. And how can I make it?

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, that makes perfect sense that you would need to to go into survival mode.

SPEAKER_01:

Well, I left the nursing home. Oh, my husband passed away in March. I can't remember the exact date, but I left with a caregiver. And I got home and found I could not cope because I was dealing of what happened, recovering still from a horrible gallbladder surgery on all this medication. And grieving. Right. And so I ended up saying, I can't do this. And I went to rehab facility because they thought, oh, maybe I can get more physical therapy because I was in a huge wheelchair with big wheels. Oh, those really

SPEAKER_02:

difficult ones to maneuver. I

SPEAKER_01:

couldn't move my legs. My legs had moved into atrophy.

SPEAKER_02:

Oh,

SPEAKER_01:

no. They had no movement in them. And my head was laying on my shoulder.

SPEAKER_02:

Wow.

SPEAKER_01:

I could not hold my head up.

SPEAKER_02:

Wow, Margie, you've come such a long way. Yeah,

SPEAKER_01:

so, and then on all these medications, and then all the scrunched up was just causing more pain. And then they always thought, well, just a little more morphine would help. So... They thought maybe rehab would work better for me because I know I couldn't cope at home. I couldn't have 24-hour caregiver. You just can't afford that. And so then, you know, so then I was in tears. And then, of course, got worse because all these medications were all mixed up. So my son, my middle one, Aaron... he was always at my side, decided we got to find a better place. Okay. So they moved me over to very, very high end, very, very fancy. And when I got there, I thought, oh, maybe I can get well here and things will, you know, be better. Well, that was a no. Oh, no. So when I was there, There's two floors and the elevator went down and it broke. And some of the people couldn't, I couldn't do stairs. Right. So we're up there and we get like peanut butter sandwiches and they're eating full meals downstairs. And then... How long

SPEAKER_02:

was the elevator broken?

SPEAKER_01:

Like a week. Oh, no. And I was like, this is, why can't you... you know, bring decent food to these people. Shush, you know, don't do that. And then when I was in there, you know, I found Christian people who, we put Bible verses together to encourage each other. No, we don't have religion here. And so you can't be passing religion Just between one-on-one. We weren't having a service or anything. We were just trying to encourage. Look, I found this, and it made me feel better.

SPEAKER_02:

And

SPEAKER_01:

they didn't like that.

SPEAKER_02:

You weren't allowed to express your personal religious beliefs at all.

SPEAKER_01:

I did not like the doctor there, and I had to fight to get an outside doctor. And I won. Oh, good. Because I didn't like what they were doing because... The nurses would say something and then the doctor would act on it without talking to the patient.

SPEAKER_02:

Wow.

SPEAKER_01:

Then I had my own room, you know, very high end. I mean, mahogany and everything, all over the walls. And I went next door and a lady laying in her bed in a filthy room. Oh, no. And screaming. Oh, she just screams a lot. And I thought... But you don't go in there. And the walls were all dirty. And I would go in there and just sit there and hold her hand. And she was screaming. And I was like, you're not taking care of her. Well, she's just belligerent, was their answer. And you go back to your room. We don't want you in there.

SPEAKER_02:

Wow.

SPEAKER_01:

And she died. And I confronted him on it.

SPEAKER_02:

Why do you think that was going on? It

SPEAKER_01:

was just... absolute neglect. And when I take her hand, she was just, you know, so relaxed and peaceful. So her belligerence wasn't being a belligerent person. It was she was in need. She needed to be comforted and cleaned up. But she was just like a throwaway to him.

SPEAKER_02:

Wow. So were you getting the rehab that you needed while you were there?

SPEAKER_01:

So I was getting my rehab, but I was so anxious because I started to see things going on, and then we were stuck upstairs, and rehab was downstairs.

SPEAKER_02:

Oh, so then for a week

SPEAKER_01:

you didn't get any rehab. So you're up there, and it was like your freedom was taken away, and you couldn't complain because one's got to be grateful, right? Be grateful for what you have. You could have nothing up here.

SPEAKER_02:

Wow. Did you feel like you were in a prison? I

SPEAKER_01:

really did. And then I'm trying to remember what else. What happened is I started saying, we need better food. And then they were trying to carry people down the stairs in a fireman's carry to get them downstairs. And they were petrified. And they were like, oh, shush. So I went over, you could do this. Don't be afraid. Just hold on and close your eyes while they're doing it. Oh, thank you. But the staff are just, oh, shush. Just, you know, these men are capable to carry you down the stairs. So just be quiet. And no one went over in compassion and said, hey, I know you're afraid, but do it.

SPEAKER_02:

Just a little human decency and a little compassion goes a long

SPEAKER_01:

way. Yeah. close your eyes and sing a song and you'll be downstairs. And they're, okay. Yeah, that I couldn't do. But they were just pushing people around, having no real care for them.

SPEAKER_02:

Wow. So you were seeing this everywhere that you went. You went to three very different facilities.

SPEAKER_01:

Facilities. And so all of a sudden... My medicine would come and I'd be like, no, I should be having a blue pill now. Why am I getting it? No, this is right. So I was getting more and more confused. Oh, you don't know what they were giving you? Yeah, they were mixing my meds. So when you're on that many, including morphine, you can't mess with them. Right. And so at two o'clock in the morning, in comes a gurney into my room. They put me on it. I grabbed what I could, hardly got my purse. They threw me in behavioral health. And so I got in there at 2 in the morning, and at 4 in the morning, the head psychiatrist came in. Oh, I'm here early. What did you find out over there? This is the most trumped-up charges, and I've heard that they're doing things to people over there. He said, but the way they wrote it, I can't let you go. He said, but hang in there. And he said, when I look over your chart, yeah, you have a few mental issues are treatable, but you don't belong here.

SPEAKER_02:

Oh, interesting. So that doctor really saw through. He saw through. The situation to what was really going on. Now, this is just like such an incredible story, Margie. I appreciate you sharing this because I'm sure it's a little painful for you to relive this and to talk about it. So I appreciate you doing that. But I wonder, like, it's so hard for somebody who hasn't been in a facility to imagine this.

SPEAKER_01:

Right.

SPEAKER_02:

How things could be that bad in the United States of America, in a wealthy suburb of Chicago, in a community that people trust, and I think people probably had trouble believing your story. What did you tell people?

SPEAKER_01:

What was the hardest thing is people in position that knew, that didn't speak up, but knew, and people using their position to justify And to portray people who live in there as less than and unknowledgeable and unable to speak for themselves. No, they don't know what they're doing. Look at them. All sick and everything. But we know. And don't believe them because it's probably a delusion. Maybe a little dementia. So, you know, just because, you know, that whole... That whole scenario. And so that was another burden to me, just another conflict of anything I valued. Like, when you know, how can you not say anything?

SPEAKER_02:

Right. You felt some responsibility because of what you were seeing.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah. But then people who saw it, who could do something... that didn't do something, and it was like for the sake of the system.

SPEAKER_02:

Yes, that's what it sounds like.

SPEAKER_01:

We're not going to bring this up.

SPEAKER_02:

So in order to get released, you were told you needed to go to this independent living facility? Is that what

SPEAKER_01:

that was? Yeah, it's assisted living. It's changed now, but at that time it was assisted living with an attached nursing home.

SPEAKER_02:

Okay.

SPEAKER_01:

And so I went there and it was under construction. So you were living in rooms that were under construction. Oh, wow. They would allow me no phone calls. They would, you know, I was just yelled at all the time. I couldn't get a hold of my children. I couldn't find a phone book or a working phone. I found a working phone. They pulled me away from it.

SPEAKER_02:

Wow.

SPEAKER_01:

What I did then is I was there. snuck out my wheelchair again and was like, God, help me. If you're listening, help me. I got a phone book. I had no money. I found a limousine service, of all things. I called him, told him my story, and he believed me. I said, if you can take me to Glen Ellen, I can get my debit card then take me to BMO Harris. If need be, I'll pay you three times what the trip was." And he had great compassion for me. And maybe a third of the costs I had to pay. And the driver, he said I called my angel. It was this guy who's six foot six with blonde hair. Took me back. I went up there and got as much stuff as I could, make sure I had my wallet and all my credit cards.

SPEAKER_02:

Your stuff was all still there?

SPEAKER_01:

All still there, everything I had. And he realized the atmosphere of the place, and he was standing downstairs. He said, Margie, you've got enough. I want you out of here. Because the people, the way they looked at me was just evil. It was like, oh, Lord, she's well now. And out. And the looks that they gave me. And he sensed it. So he said, I want you down here. I want you now. So I ended up at the Hampton Inn in Aurora with as much stuff as I had homeless. Oh, no. On all these medications.

SPEAKER_02:

Wow.

SPEAKER_01:

And this is what I wrote. In July of 2015, I had a strong impression that there was more to my life. On my own, I began to change, ridding myself of prescriptions, changing diets and attitude. It took a lot to recover, but I did. The only thing that hasn't made it is my back, which confines me to a wheelchair. I am happy, clear-minded, and called a miracle by friends and even doctors who knew me when. And so when I was at that Hampton, I made that decision and I tell people don't do what I did because I had a husband who was a dentist, three pharmacists in the family and a father-in-law who was a physician. So coming off the medications, I had some sense of what I was doing. So I tell people don't, you know.

SPEAKER_02:

What did you do? You just went cold turkey? Wow.

SPEAKER_01:

And in the midst of that, I was able to find a place to live. And I thought, it's independent, no medical. I'll go there for now. And once again, called this limousine service who took me over there. Oh,

SPEAKER_02:

good, and moved your stuff in.

SPEAKER_01:

And so I was able to do that, able to contact my children. They said, okay, you can go there. And it took about eight months for all that to come out of my system. And the ladies at the reception desk are older women and they're like, we don't know how you did it. When you come to this place, you're supposed to decline and you're getting well. And that's what they would always say. And they still, when I see them, from when you came in here to now, but it did take, At least eight months, especially the morphine.

SPEAKER_02:

And you did it all by yourself without a doctor's supervision or anything? I

SPEAKER_01:

did it by myself. I still in my bedroom have the bulletin board. I put healing scriptures on the wall. I played music. And I said, Father God, let me feel your hand because withdrawal is coming. And if I can feel something in my hand, it will ground me. until all the seizure-type stuff is over. And so I did that, and then I could see the dullness in my brain, so I started doing math problems in my head. I was too sick to read. So I did math problems, and then finally I was well enough that there was a chiropractor in town who, old family friend, So I went to him and it was kind. He said, your body is so lazy, get your head up. And he helped me and helped me get my legs moving again. And he was so kind because he knew some of the therapy they force you into stuff and makes it worse. And so I did that. But then once again, living there, I thought, this is really oppressive. You're free, but only free under the culture that's here.

SPEAKER_02:

Okay, were you able to come and go as you wanted to?

SPEAKER_01:

You could come and go as you wanted, but they sure wanted to know where you were going. But I had learned through all this advocacy and this little cocky spirit in me It just drove him nuts because I just would not.

SPEAKER_02:

You wouldn't let things

SPEAKER_01:

go. Everyone line up here and I'd be over. Don't tell me where to line up. And the ladies that worked at the desk that were close to 80 said, we want you out of here because you have gotten so well. We don't want you in this environment. because we don't want to see you decline after all you did. And we love you, and we're going to miss you, but go.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01:

So they help you get out of there? Well, then I came here December 2020, and now I am totally independent. I take absolutely no prescription medication. Oh, wow. And now today, because people who know my story come to me about themselves and their family members.

SPEAKER_02:

Yes, because they know you're an advocate.

SPEAKER_01:

With their stories, and they said, please help. And the family members are like, why am I spending these thousands of dollars and I have to be there every day? Just to make sure mom, dad, or uncle are okay. I said, well, it's the system.

SPEAKER_02:

Right. Yes, you got to be those eyes and ears and see what's going on.

SPEAKER_01:

And I don't disparage people being on medication. Like I said, I have medical people in my family. And so if you have to take medication, that is fine. And if you have to go these places, that's okay. But I just want to see them reformed and turned upside down. And that was my goal when I left. At each place, I said, I'm not going to forget these people. But then you move into two with the whole thing with ageism today. Right. And I call it the warehousing of the elderly. Who decided that we're all supposed to live together? That isn't healthy in the first place. Right. Because we could all fall into... You know, the woe is me, whereas the children are not here. It's not intergenerational at all. And it becomes just circular. And why did they decide to take us out of the population where we don't have the energy, but we have the wisdom? Right.

SPEAKER_00:

Now that we have learned about our guests and who they are, we want them to walk up the steps, grab a microphone, and get on our age stage. This segment allows a soapbox-like platform to speak to the aging community on any topic they want to shine a light on. Marjorie is going to be talking about how to advocate for others and give some advice of how to keep moving forward as you age. Let's listen in.

SPEAKER_02:

So this is your chance to be on the stage and to talk about something that you're passionate about, something that concerns you, something you'd like our listeners to know. So what would you like to say on the age stage?

SPEAKER_01:

What I would say is that, especially to the aging population, that there is hope. And to find it in others who are around you that have that hope and not look to the population for it because we're not going to get it. It is a societal change and... But just to have that hope that you are worth something, no matter what age you are, no matter how disabled your body might be, or no matter what you've done or how sick or deformed you may think you are, that you are of value and you are an important human being. And I think that's for kids today too, or even teenagers going through, you are of value. And I think we need to know that of each other, no matter what our skin color, what our religion, where we live, that we are of value. And another thing that I write on a lot is how to stay true to the values you have inside. not get lost in conspiracies and groupthink. You know, even if you're confined to a certain living space, that can happen. How to keep your brain alive. Because I do think there is part that is with Alzheimer's that is genetic, that has nothing to do, but I have seen that there's a whole lot that you can do as an individual that can keep you from going down that road. Yes. A whole lot you can do as far as attitude, keeping yourself alive, get your head in a book. Right,

SPEAKER_02:

keep your brain active, right? Keep your brain active. Keep your body active,

SPEAKER_01:

exercise. And be a learner no matter how old you are. Find something. something to learn and not be content of this is what it is, that you can go on and you can be well and you can be a contributor.

SPEAKER_02:

I think that's such an important message. I'm glad you shared that.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02:

Because you've been through a lot of things and your message makes a lot of sense in terms of value yourself and take care of yourself so that you can be kind to others.

SPEAKER_01:

Right.

SPEAKER_02:

We can all get along. Well, thank you for doing this, Margie. I'm so excited to put this together. And it was a pleasure to hear your story. Thank you for sharing it.

SPEAKER_01:

Oh, you're welcome. You're welcome.

SPEAKER_00:

Thank you for listening to The Age Guide, Perspectives on the Aging Journey. We hope you learned something new on this podcast because we all have a stake in promoting a high quality of life for people on their aging journey. Age Guide coordinates and administers many services for older adults in Northeastern Illinois. We serve DuPage, Grundy, Kane, Kankakee, Kendall, Lake, McHenry, and Will Counties. Our specially trained professionals are available to answer questions and connect you with local service providers and resources such as Adult Protective Services Program, which responds to and investigates reports of abuse, neglect, and financial exploitation of people 60 plus and adults with disabilities aged 18 to 59 who live in the community. The Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program, which advocates for residents of nursing homes, board and care home, and assisted living facilities. They are trained to resolve problems and can assist with complaints of residents living in long-term care facilities. If you are interested in these services or want to learn more, go to our website at ageguide.org or call our office at 630-293-7488. Please follow our podcasts so when we post our monthly podcast, you are notified on your streaming account. Thank you, and we will see you next time on The Age Guide, perspectives on the aging journey.