A Better Betty
Ms. Betty has been a CenterLight PACE participant for 9 years and was enrolled at the time of posting. This blog post was written in her own words.
I’m Betty J. Murray, I live in the Bronx, and I’m 74 years old. I have 3 sons and 1 daughter. My children grew up here, and through adversity all four of my children are successful. My job was to teach in a specialized kindergarten. We were the first special ed kindergarten in our district. There were children from shelters, children that were being raised by grandparents. We were trying to figure out ways to bring the community together so we created a lot of cultural programs. I’ve done about 46 years of community work. I’m still doing it!
I had a tragic situation that happened with me where I got hurt on the job with one of my children. I had an inflamed sciatic nerve and that put me in the hospital, which put me into a nursing home. I was in my head going crazy like, I can’t work? Something is changing, I’m becoming different. The me that I knew was becoming a different me. A social worker was kind enough to tell me about CenterLight.
The very first day I came to CenterLight I didn’t want to talk to people. A nice person came up in a wheelchair and she introduced herself. She said, “I know what you’re going through.” Her name was Sabrina.
And I had the opportunity to meet the young ladies I call CenterLight daughters. They were so warm and inviting and they got me into painting. It sparked something in me that I knew I have another life. There’s another part of Betty Murray besides the other part that I was leaving.
I always said that God sends you different people when you need them. I have a wonderful aide and she helps me get ready every day. Especially since I had surgery, she’s been everything to me. Joining CenterLight was the best thing that ever happened to me because it educated me about my body and it encouraged my mind and my spirit. So, it was another part of Betty that became a better Betty.
H3329_2019_BLOGBetty Approved 03122019
Last updated February 27, 2019