78-year-old Wilma is stubborn. She has lung cancer and breast cancer and she refuses to live in a home or with her granddaughter and she still lives on her own.
“For years, I have been trying to get her to move in with me so I can keep a better eye on her health. Unfortunately, she is just as stubborn as I am and has refused that offer many times. The main reason, she has lived in her house for 38 years this Thanksgiving and it is the one thing that has remained constant. She loves her home, her independence, her yard, and especially her neighbors. Every morning around 6 am, she wakes up, makes a cup of coffee, and goes directly to her porch,” Wilma’s, Darrien Middleton, posted to Facebook.
To compound matters, Wilma doesn’t live in the “best neighborhood.”
Turns out, “best neighborhood” is subjective.
While Wilma’s neighborhood might not be the most desirable neighborhood, you couldn’t ask for a more tight-knit community. The entire community has banded together to check on Wilma and make sure she’s okay.
“We don’t have much family here, so getting Nana back and forth to treatment every day and being able to check on her frequently (or as much as I would like) has been difficult for me to do. This is where her beautiful neighbors come into play. They check on her multiple times throughout the day and have even helped me get her to chemotherapy and radiation appointments. They are honestly what keeps Nana going. I can’t go over to her home without someone at some point yelling ‘Hey Ms. Wilma, How ya doing?,” Middleton continued.
In particular, Wilma’s 7-year-old neighbor checks on her multiple times a day to make sure that she wakes up from her nap.
This is what community is all about, folks.
