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Spending time in the company of Warren County residents Suzy and Lyrica brings to mind the famous quote, “friends are the family you choose.” The two happen to have the same last name, but that’s not why they refer to themselves as “sisters.” It’s because they have been best friends and roommates for decades, there for each other through thick and thin.

They met in 1995 when their respective churches merged and their pastors set in motion a plan to introduce the two – neither of whom had family – during the holidays, hoping they would become friends. “We hit it off so well, that we’ve been best friends ever since, literally sisters,” said Lyrica. “I wasn’t lonely anymore, because God gave me my Suzy.”

Shortly after they became roommates a few years later, Suzy, 72, began helping Lyrica, 60 – who was a professional dancer and minister of dance – in her busy dance studio. In addition to her involvement with the studio, Suzy continued to work full-time at Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield, in part to have health insurance coverage for rheumatoid arthritis she’d had since her 20s.

The two eventually co-founded a church that operates globally and has 10,000 members. They traveled around the world together, but always coming back to their shared condo in Warren County.

It was just before a women’s mission trip to the Bahamas in 2012 that Lyrica felt a tightness in her chest. She required immediate surgery, where doctors performed six heart bypasses. Her heart problems were caused by a genetic condition called high LP(a), where high lipoprotein makes it more likely to have a heart attack, a stroke or aortic stenosis. In the aftermath of the surgery, Lyrica now deals with circulation issues, neuropathy, severe pain, Type 2 diabetes and Reynaud’s Syndrome. At 48, she was fully disabled.

Suzy was her caregiver through it all, even with her worsening arthritis and related surgeries. “It’s been a blessing,” said Suzy. “When I get surgery she’s here and when she gets surgery I’m here.”

By 2024, the stress on her back from years of dancing caught up with Lyrica, and she required major back surgery. She spent more than a week in the hospital and then moved to a skilled nursing facility for rehabilitation.

During this time, Suzy fell ill and spent three days in the hospital. Lyrica would normally be there to help her upon arriving home, but she was still in the nursing facility. Suzy learned about FastTrack home from her hospital discharge planner and was approved for home-delivered meals and homemaking assistance while she recovered at home.

FastTrack Home is a transitional care program administered by Council on Aging (COA) that provides services at no cost for up to 60 days to older adults upon return home from the hospital or skilled nursing facility. Its goal is to prevent expensive, and often traumatic, returns to the hospital.

“FastTrack Home, it really did save my life. I’ve had the arthritis and have limped around and bent over and stuff, but to be so totally decimated physically … it just blew my mind. And so those meals… it was the greatest thing,” Suzy said.

Nine days later Lyrica was home recovering from surgery and also enrolled in FastTrack Home. Like Suzy before her, Lyrica also received home-delivered meals and homecare assistance. Having help from a home health aide “was life-changing,” Lyrica said.

These days, Lyrica and Suzy stay much closer to home with Pookiebear – a small Yorkshire Terrier-Chihuahua mix trained as a diabetes service dog – and Murdoch, their cat. They host “home church” every Sunday at their condo.

At the condo is where they each receive supportive services from the Warren County Elderly Services Program (ESP). After receiving support for 60 days from FastTrack Home, they each qualified to transition to the longer-term ESP program. All FastTrack Home participants are evaluated at the end of their 60 days of service to determine if they qualify for long-term assistance.

Suzy continues to receive homemaking services as her arthritis makes it difficult for her to perform household tasks. She said, “My arthritis is deteriorating now so that having the vacuuming help and stuff is huge.”

Lyrica receives home-delivered meals, homemaking and personal care services. “I’m just so grateful,” she said.