August 8, 2022
Thank you, friends and family, for your kind support at a difficult time. It meant a lot to everyone.
As you all know, Moe was a fighter. Until the last minute, leaving us was not in his plans. Since his fall in 2019, he had learned to adapt. On his first day bicycling at Nickerson Park with the Spaulding Adaptive Sports Program, he returned with a new sparkle in his eyes: “Nicolette, I haven’t had such a good time in years. I love it.“
The following week he asked about going on a balloon ride over New York City and intended to see the thinnest skyscraper ever built. (He had watched a story about the building of it. By last December, he was doing an hour of recumbent bicycling and was preparing to go on a European bicycling trip.
His interest in new ideas was always ready to roar. He watched documentaries on unique expeditions and building projects. Would carefully watch aerospace Mars missions for hours to see every minute detail. While his short-term memory had been affected, the rest worked well. There was no sign of deterioration but steady improvement with a kin sense of problem-solving.
During his stay in a five-star assisted living, it became clear that it wasn’t for him; he was extremely depressed and refused to get out of bed. So together, we came up with a plan. We were going to live Moe’s way! This is how we started OASIS on a property that looked just like an oasis, garden, and a pond with goldfish, frogs, and all.
Quickly, he found his sense of purpose back. His involvement in the new concept kept him thinking. Armed with his notebooks and pencil behind his right ear he was busy preparing lists. At each meeting, his ideas were invaluable, and we all cherished his enthusiasm and appreciation for what we were creating: Living at home but with access to a supportive homelike environment. He spent months preparing the projects for members, building bird houses, making signs, or whatever we needed.
After our opening, a group of guys joined, and he directed activities organized for them. They quickly became very fond of coming twice a week and bonded uniquely. Helping one another, growing stories, and their ability to talk and learn as time passed. They built special and unique birdhouses, drew, counted, and played number or word games. Listen to concerts and lectures on history and technology, had a coffee hour, lunches, and snacks. There was rarely a dull moment as spouses arrived at the end of the day, all rosy and happy to see each other again.
When Moe did not make it back from his trip to the hospital, I sat with them for lunch. They shared a great sense of loss when they heard of the news. They were perplexed, here he was planning this bicycle trip, and he was now gone? How could that be? He was better than all of us. I don’t understand… I, too, shared their perplexed look. Moe had a rough go, but he was ready to come home and looking forward to our new puppy.
A day before his soul disappeared, I had mentioned the news of the puppy’s arrival. His response was a smile I had not seen in a week. He was so looking forward to coming home, asking very practical questions: Will I be able to walk? So what happened? I still wrestle with an answer.
Thank you again for your support.
Nicolette
Nicolette Asselin
Maurice Asselin, Engineer and Woodworker 