7-Year-Old Checks Up on Elderly Neighbor 5 Times a Day Just To Make Sure She's Doing Okay
According to the American Association of Retired Persons, almost 90% of senior citizens would rather remain in their own homes as the years advance. Even when these folks start needing consistent daily care and support, AARP studies show that a whopping 82% would still prefer to live at home.
In a lot of ways, it certainly stands to reason. After all, living in your own house means living by your own rules.
It also means existing more independently. Staying with a relative or moving to a care facility can often mean sacrificing personal space and autonomy.
But “aging in place,” as it’s commonly called, also involves risks. As the human body grows older, it often begins to experience challenges like illness, weakness, and cognitive decline.
That means elders living alone may be more prone to accidents, falls, medical mishaps, or injuries. And in an emergency, it’s possible that nobody will be nearby to help.
These concerns are never far from the minds of most adult children and grandchildren. In fact, a Jackson, Tennessee, nurse named Darrien Middleton deals with these worries every day.
According to Middleton’s recent Facebook post, her grandmother has been battling lung and breast cancer for the past two years. But Grandma has also developed an unlikely friendship — and a simple snapshot depicting that bond is now warming the hearts of people everywhere.
Middleton explains that she’d like her grandmother to move in, but this determined elderly lady prefers to maintain her own residence. Consequently, the senior currently lives by herself.
That’s where a 7-year-old neighbor boy named Caleb comes in. “They are best friends,” says Middleton, explaining that Caleb stops by to visit her grandmother up to five times each day.
“He just told me it was to check on her,” says Middleton, “to make sure she wakes up from all her naps.” Middleton adds that Caleb “is a stand-out kid who has been handed a difficult situation, and he has helped my grandmother through hers.”
The families have evidently become close over time. Middleton says her grandmother absolutely beams whenever she talks about the boy.
Journalist Frank Somerville with Fox affiliate KTVU recently learned about this touching relationship, and received permission to share Middleton’s original photo on his own Facebook page. Thanks to his post, the unique alliance is receiving national attention.
It just goes to show that a little bit of caring concern can make a tremendous difference, regardless of age or life circumstance. As Somerville himself chose to put it, “We’re all pieces of the same puzzle.”
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