“When my father decided it was time for a move, I was pretty stressed about how I was going to get him moved,” recalled June Jacobs, Mr. DeBois’ daughter.

June and her family quickly settled on North Oaks, a nearby independent living community, as her father’s new home. The community suggested she contact a moving coordinator to help with the details of the large move. “I called Senior Transitions, and that was the best call I ever made,” June said. Senior Transitions, Inc. is a moving coordination company owned by Charna Kinneberg, RN, MBA.

Following their initial phone consultation, Charna started working on a floor plan for Mr. DeBois’ new home. She brought her computer to the family home, measured the furniture and quickly ascertained what would fit in the new apartment. June said, “By the time she was done, we knew exactly what furniture we were taking. That was a major help.”

When moving day arrived, Senior Transition’s expertise again proved invaluable. Charna and her staff packed the entire house in just a few days and then enlisted a top-quality mover to handle the complex move. “Throughout the process, every time I would panic, she would assure me that everything would be all right, and she was right,” explained June.

On the day of the move, Mr. DeBois went out to lunch with his caregiver and returned to an apartment that was ready to live in: complete with pictures on the wall, clothes in the closet, food in the fridge, and linens on the bed. After the move was finished, Charna arranged to have people remove the remaining junk and trash from the home.

“I really can’t recommend Charna’s services enough,” June concluded. “She took so much off my plate and made the whole process just amazing. I call her and her staff angels.”

A mere six weeks after deciding he was ready to move, Mr. DeBois was settled into his new home at North Oaks. Today, he is enjoying all that community living has to offer.

For most of her 76 years, Carolyn was a regular visitor at Philadelphia’s many museums. She also loved gardening and especially enjoyed Saturday afternoon strolls along the tree lined streets of her quiet neighborhood with it’s flower covered lawns and wind chimes.

But in the past several years, her walks have only left her frustrated and worried. On several occasions, she has tripped and fell on the sidewalks made uneven by tree roots. She used to think the uneven pavement was quaint. But she now worries that her eye-sight is failing and may force her to give up some of her favorite activities.

The National Eye Institute, in conjunction with Prevent Blindness America, analyzed the 2010 U.S. Census data and determined that 2.04 percent of the population or 142 million individuals have visual problems that affect every aspect of their lives.

Chances are that if you are affected by cataracts, glaucoma, macular degeneration or the complications of diabetes, you will at some point experience difficulty seeing. Doctors call this condition “low vision,” which can be defined as ever-present visual impairment that cannot be corrected with glasses, contact lenses, medical or surgical treatment.

Some individuals with low vision experience difficulty reading because the print appears to be too small or broken. Others may have problems seeing the face of their watch, cooking or writing their name on the line.

If you are experiencing any of these problems, consult your ophthalmologist or optometrist and make sure you get annual eye exams.

While your eye care specialist will prescribe an appropriate treatment regiment, here are a few tips to help the visually impaired maintain their independence.

1. If you enjoy reading, make sure you have proper lighting. Choose the light that provides the best illumination and make sure it is close to your reading material.
2. While reading, take a break and rest your eyes to prevent fatigue.
3. Talk to your doctor about prescribed reading glasses. Reading glasses purchased from the nearest convenience store usually do not have the necessary optical lenses to provide enough magnification.
4. Consult a low vision therapist who can help with strategies for everyday chores such as cooking, cleaning, writing and scheduling appointments.
5. Seek out vision rehabilitation therapy, which demonstrates equipment, strategies, and techniques that can help individuals complete activities of daily living with increased efficiency, independence and self-confidence.

Kinshasa A. Coghill, M.S. is a Certified Vision Rehabilitation Therapist and a Certified Low Vision Therapist with more than 10 years of experience working with seniors with low vision. More information is available at www.lowvisiontherapist.com. 

The best books leave the reader anxious to start each new chapter. The best people are no different. They approach the next chapter of their lives with anticipation and a sense of excitement that propels them into discovery, promotes creativity and provides a rich view of life.

Julia McLean Williams, at age 84, still can’t wait to turn the page! Throughout her many adventures all over the world, chapter after chapter have been added that continue to shape her life and philosophy.

Now living at Chesterbrook Residences, an active assisted living community in Falls Church, Virginia, Julia thrives. “It is a place that nourishes,“ she said. Chesterbrook Residences is a non-profit, mixed income assisted living supported by Lewinsville Presbyterian Church, Immanuel Presbyterian Church and Temple Rodef Shalom.

One of Julia’s earliest professional experiences set the tone for her remarkable career and her approach to life. In a job at the beginning of her career, she was asked to teach a severely handicapped child who had hydrocephalous. She found she had to become a scientist and search for ways to reach the person in this silent little girl.

“One day as I looked intently into the child’s eyes, I saw a sudden and unexpected flash of life, like a light, in her eyes,” Julia said. “I realized in that profound moment that she could understand love in the same way I did.” From then on throughout her teaching career, she looked into the face of her students to find that flash of light to build on. Following this experience, she was asked to start the first class for exceptional children in the public schools in Lincoln Parrish in Louisiana.

A great ten-year “chapter” took place in her life when Julia, her husband and children moved to the high plain of Bolivia, South America. Before their departure, they spent a year completing Spanish Language study in Costa Rica. Their work in Bolivia was to help the Aymara Indians improve their agricultural techniques and thus their well being. “We all became citizens of the world in those years,” Julia said.

Upon return to the U.S., Julia was asked to start a non-profit special school in Raleigh, NC. It incorporated her philosophy that interdependency is the highest form of maturity, not independence. “I put normal, gifted and handicapped children together because we live in the world that way,” she explained. The school is called Learning Together, Inc. and continues as an exemplary, award-winning program after 30 years.

Several years later when Julia was president of the Mission Board of the United Methodist Conference in North Carolina, she was involved in taking teams to Bolivia to work on special projects there. In a remote area in Trinidad, Bolivia, a team worked with a small group of lepers. Marcelo was the first leper they met. He was nearly blind, could stand, but not walk. He lived in a pitiful small room behind an abandoned hospital. He was isolated and ill.

Julia McLean Williams, at age 84

Julia remembered, “When I put my arm around him, he cried. He told me he was crying because no one had touched him for 20 years.”

Despite his circumstances, Marcelo thought only of the needs of others. He attributed his joy and concern for others to a vision he had in the middle of the night years before. He said that in the vision Jesus came and stood beside his cot and said to him, “Marcelo, use who you are and be happy.” Even the decades since this happened cannot dull the impact of this chapter. Marcelo has challenged the hundreds of people who have heard his story to “use who you are and be happy.”

After retiring, Julia developed macular degeneration and could no longer live at home alone. She began the extensive research of retirement facilities that led her to Chesterbrook Residences in Falls Church, VA.

“I looked at several places and knew I wouldn’t survive in them because there was no stimulation,” Julia remembered. When she walked into the lobby of Chesterbrook, the experience was much different. “People were sitting in lovely nooks, talking and laughing. The atmosphere was alive with energy,” Julia said. “I knew I was home. I never regretted moving one second.”

When she isn’t busy with Chesterbrook‘s many activities, Julia is often with companion, Bill Meyer. The two met shortly after she arrived at Chesterbrook. Her newfound love is one of the many things she treasures about this new chapter in her life.

Today, Julia focuses on finishing her book, How Do You Spell JOY? The title is derived from an innocent question asked of her by a young Chilean refugee as he wrote a letter to his grandmother in Chile about his new life after being adopted by Julia’s church.

Whether as an author, educator, missionary, mother of four or grandmother of eight, Julia looks forward to starting each new chapter. After all, a new chapter offers opportunities to give and receive JOY- no matter how you spell it!