MECOSTA, Mich. -- It was a special night for a Mecosta County man in hospice care. On Wednesday, the former rodeo cowboy was able to see horses one last time.
At 84 years old, Lloyd Robinson is just as much a cowboy as he was at 24. When his nurse with Spectrum Health Hospice found out he loved horses, they knew they needed to make this happen as soon as they could.
With the help of nurses, Lloyd Robinson was able to see horses for the first time in years. Currently in hospice care with Alzheimer’s, it might be the last time he sees them.
"Horses are smarter than most human beings," joked Robinson.
Robinson grew up in Missouri surrounded by horses and later rode in rodeos.
“I wasn’t great, but I was fair," said Robinson.
It’s a commonality Robinson shared with his hospice nurse, Starr Felde.
"When I started taking care of him we kind of found that connection with the horses," said Felde. "He’s from Missouri and used to have a ranch, so I thought it would be really cool to bring him over here and be around horses for a while and kind of share his stories, he’s an awesome story teller.”
After meeting a month ago, they knew they had to get Robinson out to the Felde family farm in Mecosta so he could see horses one last time.
"I think he’s going to be smiling from ear to ear," said Felde. "I just really hope it brings back those good memories and good feelings for him and that he can share those memories and feelings with all of us.”
It brought back old memories and made some new ones.
"They're all good memories," said Robinson. "I don’t have any bad ones. Even on my worst day, it was still a good memory.”
Robinson says he’s hopeful that he’ll be able to get back on a horse once more in the time he has left. His family jokes that if he were to get on a horse, he’d ride away and they wouldn’t see him for hours.
