(REVISED - VALENTINE'S DAY 2/14/24)
"I keep thinking I won't last another day," South Windsor, CT's, unofficial town historian, Sally Edlund, said recently. "But morning comes and I'm still here."
Edlund, 94, who has been receiving hospice care for the past few months, is willing to occasionally make light of her declining health and her end-of-life care.
The woman who was a nursery school teacher and ran a nursery school from the early 1960s to the mid-1990s, said lately she's been living on the living room couch.
She describes her health as having "a bad heart, bad lungs and a bad memory."
Edlund keeps a note pad nearby to write down her sometimes jumbled thoughts. A damaged vocal cord prevents her from speaking above a whisper.
"I can't yell at anybody," she said.
A nurse visits Edlund twice a week. During their hour-long visits the nurse routinely struggles to find her vital signs, Edlund said. The nurse often talks about her chickens, cats and dogs, Edlund said. When asked if she feels weaker day to day, she responded, "not day by day, hour by hour."
She admires the agility of her also-94-year-old brother-in-law, Bob Staiger, who lives behind her Hilton Drive home. He recently walked over to her house to visit without the use of a cane, she said. Then she listed his daily routines, impressed by his ability to still drive and cook for himself.
"He even vacuums his own living room," she said.
Just as impressive, she said, is another neighbor, 96-year-old Lenny Pelletier. Pelletier cut, stacked and sold wood up until his early 80s. Upon hearing Pelletier also still drives and bowls twice a week, Edlund thought that keeping physically active enabled both men to stay healthy - and alive.
"That's what kept him (Pelletier) going," she said.
Edlund said she watches television, reads newspapers and talks on the phone most days. Her son and three daughters are regular visitors and always a phone call away, she said. She has three granddaughters and two grandsons.
Her two great-grandchildren, James, 7, and Emma, 9, recently visited from Lancaster, PA. They decorated her living room walls with papier-mache, hearts and letters. The children wore velour capes, sang songs and played music on an electric piano.
"I couldn't keep up with them," she said.
She loves children and the nursery school allowed her to what she loved best; teach children how to read and write and to develop social skills.
"I just loved being around (children)," she said.
Edlund said she's had a very fortunate life. She grew up living around her parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles and even knew her great-grandmother.
"Her husband fought in the Civil War," she said. She recalled driving around town with her grandmother who always warned her to slow down.
"She'd say, 'Don't go so fast. You don't know if there's a road on the other side of that hill'."
Of course, there always was, Edlund smiled.
She was a longtime caretaker for several family members including her husband, Fred, who died in August 2022.
She was the president of the American Fern Society and she recalled one memorable trip where they stayed in a cabin in the woods and went on nature walks. Edlund was also a member of the Wildflower Society, Garden Exchange, Rhodium Club and a longtime - and loyal - member of the South Windsor Historical Society.
""I gave her a ride in my two-seater about two years ago, with the top down. She was thrilled," said Cherish Lisee, a historical society member, who designed and manages the group's website. "Her dedication to preserving our town history has always been amazing."
Edlund said said she'd lived through several wars and the Depression, and always relied on her family.
"I've seen a lot of changes in the world," Edlund said."Even though it was poor times, I had a lot of support from my family."
Негізгі бет (REVISED) Sally Edlund - An Unlikely Friendship with a Dividend
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