[Updated: March 21, 2023 | Published: March 21, 2023]

Many thanks to Resident Ruth F. for writing this story about her journey to senior living and her experience at Friendship Village of Dublin! 

My husband Ralph had been diagnosed with Cancer in the 1990s: first Chronic Lymphatic Leukemia which converted to Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, giving him a grim prognosis. Ralph was brave and pursued what he was told to do. After eventually completing chemotherapy at the James, we had twenty-seven more years together.

What can one say? We were thankful. Ralph was able to continue his profession as a pharmacist, first in retail, then with the Air Force, and later as a mentor, teacher, and Director of Alumni Professional Affairs at the Pharmacy College at The Ohio State University. He was proud and dedicated to his long, well-loved choice of career. I don’t know from where he drew his strength.

Unfortunately, after a period of time, cancer returned. The experimental drug Ralph had been given was no longer effective. The doctor advised more chemo, but after much consideration, Ralph decided he did not want more chemo.

It was December 2017, and things were “a-changing;” we were transitioning from being an active and involved-in-community couple to one challenged by health concerns. What would the future hold for us?

We knew we had to make some changes in our housing. We had built a new house in Scioto Run in Hilliard in 1990. We were averse to even thinking about selling as we were quite fond of the house, the neighborhood, and the friends we had made. We knew every neighbor’s name and the name of every neighbor’s dog.

However, by 2018, we reluctantly decided we could no longer delay. We were driving our kids crazy with worry and care.

We had lived in Columbus most of our lives. We had heard about Friendship Village of Dublin and knew it was highly recommended. My teaching colleague from Montrose Elementary School in Bexley, Ohio, Jeri T., was a resident at FVD; she invited us to come to lunch in her apartment so we could experience some of the services offered and see the Village. It was the right fit for us.

Ralph and I established ourselves as residents in Independent Living in Ash Run North and made friends quickly – people such as Graham A., Victoria H., Tom and Dee E., Alice and Jim W., Kathy T., and Pat G. A number of our church members (Upper Arlington Lutheran Church) were also residents.

Ralph’s cancer became more aggressive, and he became weaker. He wanted to stay in our apartment as he said goodbye, so we arranged to have hospice and around-the-clock care to assist us. Ralph passed away in March 2020 at 87 years old.

In May 2022, after being on a waiting list, I moved to Waterford Place Assisted Living.

My new location is quite nice, overlooking the Legacy Patio and gardens.

I gave the move quite a bit of thought. My Independent Living apartment was large without Ralph. Had I moved during the pandemic and lockdown, I felt I would have had to give up my groups and friends. But, the pandemic eased, and I did not have to sacrifice my social connections to relocate.

I can eat in any of our five restaurants and have the option of eating in the Assisted Living dining areas.

I can keep old friends and make new friends. I can attend off-campus events such as the ballet, symphony, theatre, shopping trips, etc., and I can entertain in my Assisted Living apartment.

I realize we are one community within the Village, but we are made up of different living areas based on our needs.

At this time, I feel satisfied, settled, and have a sense of well-being. I am safe, making friends, and protected without my husband. I am a blessed Resident of Friendship Village of Dublin. I call the Village “The Place with a Heart.”