WHOO-HOO! A trip to the beach! Pack the suitcases, fill the ice chests, and let’s go PAR-TAY! Oh, but don’t forget the medications, the oxygen concentrator and the wheelchairs.

Too often the golden years become the Twilight Zone for people with Alzheimer’s disease, arthritis and other age-related illnesses.

Recently, Willow Creek Living Center in Iva took a step toward changing that situation when it took its residents on a four-day trip to Myrtle Beach.

By the time the bus rolled out of Willow Creek’s parking lot at 8 o’clock that morning, Stacy Hogg, the facility’s activities director, had been hard at work for hours.

“I clocked in at four this morning,” Mrs. Hogg said. “I made sure all the suitcases were packed, helped the third shift get the residents up, dressed, and fed, and made the sandwiches for lunch.”

She also found the time to scrawl “Willow Creek Beach Bums” and other graffiti on the bus windows.

Carla Heritage, Willow Creek’s administrator, admits to being nervous at the prospect of the trip, but an experience at a previous facility motivated her to approve the project.

A gentleman at that care center, a veteran of both World War II and the Korean War, felt so comfortable around Mrs. Heritage that he often took his naps in her office while she worked. On one occasion the two friends talked about all the memorials in Washington, D.C., where Mrs. Heritage’s daughter lived at the time.

“I’d love to see all that,” he said, and Mrs. Heritage thought, “Why not?”

With her daughter’s help, Mrs. Heritage arranged a trip to the nation’s capital.

“In order to work around his dialysis schedule, we had to leave Saturday morning and fly back Sunday night, but he got to see all the military memorials,” she said.

That was in April. The old soldier died in August.

So when Ms. Heritage was approached about this trip she again thought, “Why not?”

The trip was on, but obstacles arose. Funding was a problem, since this was not a normal budgeted event. Staff and residents’ family members held a car wash and sold hot dogs, baked goods, T-shirt sponsorships, and raffle tickets for a Wal-Mart shopping spree.

Iva and Honea Path businesses chipped in as well, as did a tavern in Starr whose regulars purchased several books of tickets. Slowly but surely the money was raised.

The residents’ medical needs were another cause for concern. Ten residents signed on for the journey, but only eight actually went.

“In order to go, residents had to be mobile and medically stable,” Heritage said. “When I told people about this trip, they said, ‘They’re all ambulatory, aren’t they?’ and I said, ‘No.’ Then they said, ‘Well, they’re all continent, aren’t they?’ and I said, ‘No.’ People looked at me like I was crazy.”

In addition to Hogg, her assistant Tina Shaver, and Heritage, four other staff members, including Kim Latham, Willow Creek’s director of nursing, accompanied the residents.

“My biggest concern was the medications,” Latham said. “I knew I’d be accountable for narcotics that I had no way to keep under lock and key, plus I had to administer medications up to four times a day for some residents.”

Nurse Jennifer Galvin’s biggest worry was the care of the center’s diabetic patients, whose diets on the trip would be different from their usual fare.

But hard work and planning solved most of the problems, and the trip that began as a suggestion from certified nursing assistant Tammy Getsinger became a reality. The months of preparation paid off when the group caught its first glimpse of the ocean.

“Look! Look! There it is!” shouted Hogg when the bus turned onto Ocean Boulevard. Passengers craned their necks to get a better look, especially resident Christine Bruce. For her the moment was especially poignant; she had never been to the beach or seen the ocean.

“It’s real big,” she said.

Friday morning found the residents relaxing by the pool while the staff rounded up beach wheelchairs with lightweight frames and oversized tires. The residents rolled through the sand to the edge of the surf.

A group photo shows residents, family members, and staff smiling and waving at the camera. The Atlantic Ocean stretches out behind them.

After a day on the beach, residents were treated to a seafood dinner at a Garden City restaurant. Staff members dressed each resident in his or her best and took the time to apply make-up to the ladies’ faces.

“When we go out, I feel like the residents’ appearance is a reflection on me,” said Shaver, “so I want them to look nice.”

Saturday was “do-your-own-thing” day. Some residents slept late. Others went out for lunch and shopping. In the evening Hogg, Shaver and Getsinger took several residents to the Dixie Stampede, an entertainment extravaganza featuring trick horseback riding, stand-up comedy, a musical production that included a video performance by Dolly Parton, and, of course, good food. That outing turned out to be another highlight of the trip.

“Those were the most beautiful horses,” said Willow Creek resident Bessie McAlister. “And those girls were riding them like there was nothing to it. That was my favorite part of the whole trip.”

“It was worth it just to hear Mr. Lowe and Miss Bessie laugh,” said Hogg. “I’ve never seen them laugh like that. And they enjoyed the food too, even though they had to eat with their fingers.”

The chance to be with family was another special feature of the trip. Mrs. Hogg’s grandmother Vinnie Ashley, who is herself a resident at Willow Creek, was also accompanied by her daughter Janice Ashley. Mrs. McAlister’s daughter came along as well, while Helen Robinson had a rare opportunity to spend time with all three of her daughters.

“This is the first time in fifteen years that we’ve gotten to come to the beach together,” said Gail Horm, Mrs. Robinson’s youngest daughter.

“We’re so glad they got those beach wheelchairs,” added her sister Mel Rowland. “Mother was always such a beach bunny.”

Mrs. Hogg conceded that the trip had been a learning experience. “We learned a lot about what our residents can do and what they enjoy doing,” she said. “Plus, we learned about accommodating the needs of the handicapped in a world that is not so user friendly for those individuals.”

Family members expressed gratitude for the staff’s efforts.

Mrs. Rowland was impressed by the fact that Willow Creek had scrambled to locate a portable oxygen concentrator when it became apparent that her mother would need one on the trip.

“If she hadn’t got to go, I think she would have just given up,” she said.

“This is such a beautiful thing, that a nursing facility would do something like this,” said Ms. Horm. “I don’t know where they get people that care so much about the patients.”

The residents themselves also commented on the staff’s dedication. “One of the best parts of the trip was just spending time with such great people,” said Mr. Lowe.

Mr. Lowe particularly enjoyed the company of Stephanie Heidt, one of Willow Creek’s certified nursing assistants. At 23, the slender blonde was the youngest member of the group.

“Let me go,” Lowe joked when another staff member tried to help him off the bus. “I’ve got to grab this pretty girl.”

Special moments and small pleasures abounded. Family members and staff developed friendships Galvin celebrated her 31st birthday during the trip. Hogg, who rarely stopped moving, enjoyed card games with her colleagues after the residents were asleep. And since the hotel did not have showers to accommodate wheelchairs, Lowe decided to take a long bath instead.

“You don’t know how good this feels,” he told Galvin as he soaked in the warm water. “I haven’t had a bath in a tub like this in years.”

On Sunday morning, the tired but happy residents climbed on the bus for the return trip to “The Creek,” as the facility is affectionately known. When the vehicle arrived and the door opened, beach music was blaring from the open door. Friends and family who’d come to welcome their loved ones home burst into laughter when each resident exited the van wearing a star-spangled “doo-rag.”

According to Mrs. Heritage, a cultural shift is occurring in America. “Nursing homes were places where people went to die; living centers are places where people go to enjoy life as much as possible,” she said.

Perhaps a slogan painted on one of the wall of a Willow Creek hallway says it best.

“Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well-preserved body, but rather to skid broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn-out, and loudly proclaiming, ‘Wow, what a ride!’”