Scouts do a good deed for older generation As the vans carrying clients of Mahelona Medical Center wheeled into view of the Lydgate Park main pavilion, the nine Boy Scouts from Troop 83 silently ended their romping in the fields
Scouts do a good deed for older generation
As the vans carrying clients of Mahelona Medical Center wheeled into view of the Lydgate Park main pavilion, the nine Boy Scouts from Troop 83 silently ended their romping in the fields and hustled toward the arriving vans.
Tuesday was the final beach outing for approximately 25 clients of Mahelona’s long-term care facility, coordinated by Josie Pablo, a recreational therapist for the hospital. She was aided by other hospital staffers, including physical therapists and aides who helped with clients and prepared a barbecue meal.
Included in the roster of beachgoers was 107-year-old Yoshi Minami, the oldest surviving Gold Star Mother (an organization for mothers of military veterans) in the state (see page 12-A for photo).
Also in the group was Kimberly Boldt, who could hardly wait to get into the water.
And the outing was special for William Anguay, whose wife joined the group at Lydgate. Pablo explained this was Anguay’s first encounter with the water, and he was a little apprehensive. But after coaxing from Pablo and his Scout escort, he waved jovially from his lounge.
While waiting for the vans to be unloaded, the Scouts, under the direction of Scoutmaster Alan Yamamoto, began unloading wheelchairs and other equipment from a truck. Each chair belonged to an individual and had to be wheeled to the ramp of the specially-equipped van as the client came down.
The Scouts dutifully attended to each client, leaving them only after a hospital employee or volunteer took over.
A team of workers prepared “swimmers” for the ocean, applying sunscreen and changing their clothing while the Scouts’ duty changed from unloading clients to wheeling them to the keiki pool.
Once waterside, it was a team effort between hospital staffers and Scouts to get clients onto a floating lounger once the client was fitted with flotation gear.
Minami was brought to the water’s edge, where she was settled into a patio chair to enjoy the water lapping at her feet.
The activity drew the attention of several visitors. Lou Lujon of Pasadena, Calif. said he had never seen anything like it and was so impressed he wanted to make a donation to the Scouts’ troop.
Lujon kneeled and kissed the hand of Minami before joining his wife in the shade to watch the generations meld in the universality of the water.
Another visitor, landbound due to an injured foot, saw a photo op. She focused on a photo of Minami, who obliged with a smile each time the water lapped at her feet.
Yamamoto explained that this was another one of the boys’ projects. And they were enjoying themselves, the happiness and joy of the clients fueling the Scouts’ enthusiasm for the task at hand.
“We couldn’t do this without them,” said Placido Valenciano, one of the hospital’s physical therapists, as he watched the activity from the comfort of one of the sand-wheeled wheelchairs.
Staff photographer Dennis Fujimoto can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 253).
