Barbara and Robert Anderson, Former Corrections Officer and USMC Veteran

A while back, I had the pleasure of meeting Barbara and Robert Anderson. We were able to go over to their home to give them a FREE cleaning with the help of 4 amazing volunteers.

Barbara is 77 years old and Robert is 90 years old. They have been together for 25 years and married 24 years. Barbara was originally from California and worked as a Correctional Officer. Robert is a Marine Corps Veteran who served around 1956-1958 as a Vehicle Driver.

I received a phone call from Barbara regarding our FREE cleaning program for elderly, senior veterans. I distributed my flyer to a VA office near their home and their point of contact there gave them my information. During the phone call, Barbara explained to me their situation. Robert had fallen over a curb that was not regulation height and was badly hurt two and a half years ago. He was in the hospital for quite a while due to his age. He was given the option to have back surgery but declined it due to his age. That type of surgery would be almost impossible to recover from at this age. Not long after that he fell again. His walker came out from under him this time around. This time, the VA gave him a compression type shirt to help him with his back pain and injury. Since he is confined to a walker to get around the house or anywhere, he cannot do any major cleaning around their home.

Barbara also sustained some injuries recently. She also fell a couple times including once in their own living room. Consequently, she needed 2 hip surgeries. She is also using a walker to get around the house but can walk without for very short periods of time. So vacuuming their home is basically impossible.

Saying that they both need some help cleaning their home is an understatement. So we were able to gather 4 great volunteers to help with the cleaning. When we arrived to their home, it was not in very bad shape. It definitely needed some help but was nowhere near disgusting. So me and the volunteers split up and took on the tasks. Their home is only about 1,300 sq ft so it didn't take long to clean with the 5 of us. When all the work was completed, both Barbara and Robert were delighted to see the results. They couldn't stop thanking us for our help.

Not only did we help an amazing and sweet couple with their cleaning, we all made a new friend and almost a family member that day. The veteran community is very tight knit and we always say "we take care of our own." This is exactly what that means to me.