Marlene Sokol-Koven
Founder

My Story…And the beginning of Chapters in Aging…

We are all capable of touching a heart - instilling a memory - and leaving our mark on the world.  One woman left me with a journey to repeat...

In 1959 at age 13 I became a caregiver.  I was the family member responsible for the care of a chronically ill mother who was an amputee, diabetic, suffering from arthritis, osteoporosis, retinopathy, and other age and disease related illnesses. Faced with significant challenges, I was ill equipped, unprepared, untrained… and young.

1959 was a time when communication with physicians and healthcare providers was, at best, vague for an adult - let alone a child.  Community resources and support systems had not evolved.  Adequate information on signs and symptoms of what was normal, what were potential risk factors, how to manage these illnesses, and life-saving answers to questions concerning my mother’s condition and prognosis, were unavailable to me.  Much of the time I was guided by instinct alone.  The only barometer I had was that for nine years she lived.  Sadly, she lost her battle in 1968.

Many of my questions have long since been answered.  However, my quest to provide information and resources for our seniors and older community members has continued throughout the decades.  So many need help with their illness or a loved one’s illness.  So many do not know where to go for answers, whom to ask, how to ask, or even what to ask.  Those answers were not available to me in 1959.  However, today, Chapters In Aging endeavors to provide medical specialists who will answer our questions and build a partnership with us - a bridge that will enable healthy chapters in aging. 

This program is dedicated to my mother whose Herculean spirit and will to live illuminated everyone’s path.  She had disabilities… but she was not disabled. 

--Marlene Sokol-Koven