In the last few years, Julie Bick has lost her mother and learned to cope with her father’s medical condition. But others in the community are helping her father through his journey.

In 2016, Julie Bick lost her mother suddenly.

Naturally, Bick regretted not spending more time with her mother. She could never have predicted her passing away so fast.

The next year, Julie’s father received a life-changing diagnosis. He had Alzheimer’s disease.

As most people know, Alzheimer’s affects the brain, making memory loss and cognition progressively worse.

The diagnosis brought out a range of emotions in Bick and the rest of her family. But most of all, she felt dedicated to spending as much time with her father as possible.

So she and her two children moved into her father’s home. Bick would become her father’s primary caregiver.

Bick’s father has had a comfortable couple of years since. His daughter and grandchildren’s presence every day has brought stability that he otherwise would not have had.

Still, even with his family there to support him, Bick’s father’s journey has been a struggle. He is frustrated over the fact that he can no longer drive. He has also had to come to terms with a loss of freedom in other ways, like being unable to cut the grass or take his own medicine.

To help her father cope, Bick has set up a weekly routine for him to follow.

She knows that this helps him cope with his condition and brings him happiness. An important part of the weekly routine is for Bick’s father to sit out in the yard on Monday morning and wait for the garbage man.

The garbage man, Harold, has become a friend to Bick’s father.

Everyone on the block already knew that Harold was a great guy. But with Bick’s father, Harold has really gone above and beyond.

Bick has seen that every week, Harold and her father spend time talking with one another. They will also pray.

Recently, Bick observed her father and Harold meeting one morning. She had been feeling sad and trying to conceal her emotions from her father. She sat on the porch and watched the two happily greeting one another and taking part in their usual routine.

Bick was struck by just how far Harold was going for her father.

Soon, Bick was crying, but she was no longer sad. She was happy that her father still had someone familiar to talk to.

She took a picture of the two together and shared it on her Facebook page.

The photo and its story then touched many people. To date, the Facebook post has gained 14,000 reactions. It also has 3,900 shares and 1,700 comments. People have been saying things like this:

Bick’s father is lucky to have a daughter, grandchildren and people in his life who are helping him. So many others do not have this kind of support.

Alzheimer’s is a terrible condition. But with the help of loved ones and the community, Bick’s father is handling it.

People like Harold really are amazing.

There is no benefit to him in talking to Bick’s father. But he does it every week because he is a good human who genuinely cares about the people in his community.

Some people scoff at garbage men. But Harold shows that they deserve as much respect as anyone else.

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Source: Love What Matters, Julie Ann