TO PLAY OR NOT TO PLAY: Sports injuries a calculated risk of healthy, active lifestyle P12
75 CENTS
October 5, 2017
ELBERT COUNTY, COLORADO
A publication of
Q&A with new County Manager Sam Albrecht Air Force background helped shape father of two, Scout leader BY JODI HORNER SPECIAL TO COLORADO COMMUNITY MEDIA
Cindy Cummins reaches for her walker as her husband Chris assists her. Chris has been Cindy’s primary caregiver since she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2005, a role he says forced him to confront his own misconceptions about marriage, devotion and entitlement. TOM SKELLEY
In health, and in sickness: ‘We have to be close’ A marriage evolves as a husband becomes his wife’s caregiver BY TOM SKELLEY TSKELLEY@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Chris Cummins sits on the floor, cross-legged, facing his wife Cindy in the recliner where she spends most of her day. With her right hand, she strokes her Chihuahua, Porscha, snuggled in her lap. Lining the wall near the chair is a pile of Cindy’s shoes, some with lower leg braces attached, others with duct
tape on the soles to prevent her from slipping. As Cindy leans forward, Chris guides her to the nearby walker, then walks just behind her, his hand resting softly on her back. He stands beside her as she positions herself on the stairlift that takes her upstairs to the bathroom — there’s none on the first level. And he waits just outside the bathroom door until she re-emerges. Then they repeat the movements in reverse, a choreography synchronized with repetition and time. Cindy, 61, settles into the recliner and Chris, 64, embraces her feet with his hands, gently placing them in a comfortable position on the leg
rest. He moves to the couch, always within 10 feet of his wife. She sighs. “This wasn’t how we planned to spend our retirement together,” she said. Since they first met, the couple, now married 36 years, has felt a profound closeness. But Cindy’s 2005 diagnosis of multiple sclerosis, a degenerative neurological condition that progressively robs victims of their motor skills and shortens most victims’ lives, sent them on a journey that altered their relationship — at times for worse but, in the end, for better.
Samuel Albrecht officially signed with Elbert County on Sept. 27 as its new county manager. Albrecht replaces Ed Ehmann, who resigned in June after more than three years as county manager. Albrecht, who has a Parker address but lives in Elbert County, is originally from northern Alabama and attended Auburn University Albrecht on scholarship from the U.S. Air Force, for which he served in Operations Desert Storm/Desert Shield. He has a degree in aerospace engineering and a master’s in business administration. Albrecht and his wife, a Littleton native, have lived in Elbert County since 2010. They have two children, three Labrador retrievers, two cats, a hamster and a turtle, “so you could say we are animal people,” Albrecht said. In his spare time he enjoys hunting, fishing, and camping, and serving as an assistant Scout leader for his son’s Boy Scout troop. As he starts his new position, he answered questions recently for the Elbert County News: Why did you apply for the position of Elbert County manager? I grew up in a county similar to Elbert County and feel that I can relate well to
SEE CAREGIVER, P14
SEE ALBRECHT, P2
THE BOTTOM LINE PERIODICAL
“We live in a world of incredibly talented and gifted people… And yet, on the other side, we also live in a world where mediocrity almost seems like an accepted norm.” Michael Norton | columnist, Page 8 INSIDE
VOICES: PAGE 8 | LIFE: PAGE 12 | CALENDAR: PAGE 2
ElbertCountyNews.net
VOLUME 122 | ISSUE 36