Anthony and Louise found their freedom together. Both were cooped up in the same Baltimore nursing home when fate intervened.

His roommate was friends with Louise, and they were introduced one week after Anthony was admitted. Sparks flew.

They became engaged (“some residents were jealous, but most thought it was a good idea”), left at the same time and found a nice, two-bedroom unit in the Greenhill Apartment Complex, where they’ve lived for two years.

Louise and Anthony had found happiness. They had their ceremony at the place they met—the nursing home. “Everybody I knew was there,” says Louise.

Born in Washington, Louise was diagnosed with Diabetes 15 years ago. After developing foot problems, she was shipped to Millennium Nursing Home. Her future husband had suffered a leg infection after he scraped it on a curb. He was in and out of Bon Secour Hospital until being relegated to nursing home status.

Eventually, the social worker there cooperated with Making Choices for Independent Living to move them to the community. Neither one misses Millennium.

“If everyone could get out of the nursing home, they would!” she says. “I’ve got more freedom, more privacy, better treatment and the food’s great.”

Anthony agrees: “I can do what I want when I want to. I can cook my own meals, eat what I want. My friends and family stay whenever they want, even overnight.

“I’m just happy the way I’m living right now. I just take what comes along.”