Recently we took a group from the Bosnian community on a trip to nearby Eckert Farms.
We were a little concerned how the trip would go when one of our friends, Lane, decided to join us. Lane has dementia and when he can’t recognize friends or where he is, he often gets panic attacks.
When Lane saw all the fields full of fruit trees, sunflowers, and vegetables, a big smile appeared on his face.
Lane started telling us stories about his hometown and his huge family farm. But then Lane’s smile faded and he said, “We lost everything. All we worked for, it’s gone, it was destroyed in the war. Here we have nothing except the four walls of our apartment. Can you please leave me here between these fruit trees?”
His wife told him to be happy that they had a roof over their heads. But even with dementia, the bad memories come back to Lane on both good days and bad days.
We are so blessed to be able to spend time with people like Lane. Even if we’ve heard the same stories several times before, it fills our hearts with love when we hear that we are like family to them.
- Mira and Sasha Zivanov, field personnel in St. Louis
