Dr. Elizabeth Fesler

Dr. Elizabeth Fesler My mother, Mary, was an amazing woman. She cooked wonderfully, and she made all of my clothes and my daughter’s clothes, and even her dolls’ clothes.

After my father died, mother began to spend more time with me. I noticed that, in very subtle ways, she was starting to forget. Having always possessed a very strong sense of family, I would not have thought of placing my mother in a nursing home. But eventually, it got to the point that I simply could not care for her any longer. It was then that we turned to Rockynol.

I had tremendous feelings of guilt; it was very hard on me because I felt like I was abandoning my mother. But after only a few visits with her at Rockynol, it became a sense of comfort because the staff there was so wonderful. They would get her attention; they would rub her arm; they would hug her. She couldn’t remember their names, but she could remember the warmth of it. One health aide in particular would always make her laugh, and her laughter – that did a lot for me.

As my mother entered her final days, several staff members came to her room, some even on their days off, to sit with me and to say their goodbyes to Mary. I don’t know that I’ve met anyone like my mother or the people who cared for her, anyone who developed a greater potential for humanity. The staff at Rockynol is so imbued with human kindness, and they’ve made their spot in this world a much better place.

I’ve heard the young minister at Rockynol end the Sunday service with, “Go forth and just be full of love.” That’s the world my mother lived in, and that’s the culture that exists at Rockynol. I can honestly say that if people give charitable dollars, they could not give them to a better place than Rockynol. It’s already such a great place, but it’s better because of giving.