Encore Adult Daily Enrichment Center staffer gives guests the show of a lifetime

PLANO -- "Encore! Encore!" they chant.

These Alzheimer's and dementia patients may not remember Lucille Ball tomorrow or next week, but for now they are elated as they cheer for her return.

For Rhonda Medina, community relations director for Encore Adult Daily Enrichment Center, impersonations of various celebrities, including Lucille Ball, are a great stimulator for the weakening minds of the guests -- the name given to the patients -- at this Plano facility.

"One of the fun things that we do when we entertain the beloved guests is after the show we say, 'If you have enjoyed the performance and want Lucy to come back out and visit and talk with you, then just say, 'Encore. Encore,'" Medina said.

Once the crowd begins reciting the phrase, Lucy reappears and talks with each audience member individually.

"She kneels down on their chair and talks with them to find out who they are and if they remember the show," Medina said, speaking in third person about herself as Lucy. "It helps the dementia sufferers engage, because with Alzheimer's and dementia, you really have to get down on their level and engage them one-on-one and interact with them in the present."

Encore is a day-stay facility for adults with diseases such as Alzheimer's. A day stay is a center where family members can leave their loved ones for a set period of time and then pick them up later in the day.

"The person who has taken responsibility of that spouse or loved one, that person we call the caregiver," Medina said. "Their whole life has become about taking care of this Alzheimer's or dementia patient because they have come to the point where they can't leave them alone for a minute -- because they might go to cook dinner and five minutes later don't realize they turned the oven on."

When a family is faced with such a situation, there are two options: Place the person in an assisted-living center where the patient lives indefinitely, or take them to a day stay.

"At some point the caregiver, although they love their mother, they love their father and they don't want to put them in a 'home,' says, 'I just can't take care of them anymore,'" Medina said. "What many people don't realize is that a day stay is an opportunity for them to bring their dementia loved one in and leave them with us. They are fed. They have activities. And we specialize in doing activities that stimulate their memories."

Not only does Encore host daily activities for each guest, but they also team up with the Prestonwood Assisted Living Center, often sharing entertainment and activities between the two facilities. On July 21, "Lucille Ball" will host an open house at 6:30 p.m. at Encore, 6505 West Park Blvd. For this event the general public is encouraged to attend.

"The open house is a public event, and we are inviting people to come in and learn what a day stay is all about and what it looks like," Medina said. "It's like a senior center meets a day spa. That's what it's like."

Medina's dual roles at Encore were not born overnight; rather, her life has consisted of a series of events that have brought her to where she is today.

Medina was raised in Los Angeles, where she began performing at 4 years old.

"My mother saw me memorizing all of the Shirley Temple routines off of the television set," Medina said. "So she put me in dance, and that dance coach also happened to be an acrobatics coach. I fell so in love with acrobatics that I became an acrobat."

Medina's mother began making costumes for her infatuated 4-year-old and taking her to perform at nursing homes and senior centers.

"I started off early in a variety style of performing," Medina said. "Here was this little 4-year-old with a patch over one eye and glasses, flipping and dancing. They must have thought, 'Oh my gosh, she is going to die.'"

Talent and live performances, however, were no stranger to Medina's family history.

"Both of my parents are wonderful, talented vocalists," Medina said. "My mother's claim to fame very early in life, her big thing, was that she opened for Sammy Davis Jr. in 1972 at Caesar's Palace. It was always in my family's blood."

But tragedy struck when Medina's mother became very ill at a young age. Medina and her sister were raised by their grandmother until, when Medina was 16, her grandmother was diagnosed with Alzheimer's.

"My sister and I were raised by her for eight years," Medina said. "Her Alzheimer's was finally diagnosed, and she was at a point where it was not safe for her to care for us anymore."

Her family's struggles with illness were not yet over. By her uncle's 63rd birthday, he was down to only a 30-minute, short-term memory span.

"The Alzheimer's hit him so early," Medina said. "The one thing that he remembered was my singing. So I sang for him and did some impersonations. That brought him so much joy."

In 1986, Medina moved to Florida to pursue a career in professional acting. In 1988, she began performing in the theater, with the ultimate goal of working her way into being a soap opera actress.

"At the time, they were building the Universal Studios out there and Florida was going to be the new Hollywood," Medina said. "They filmed all these movies out there. They had MGM studios. It was a hop, skip and a jump from New York City. It was the place to be at the time. We learned very quickly that it wasn't going anywhere. Florida was not the place to be, and if you want to be in the business, you have to go to New York."

Along the way, Medina fell in love, had children and had to decide if chasing her dream of stardom was a worthwhile pursuit.

"I had a son, and at some point I had to make the decision to just take care of him," Medina said. "My whole family lived in Dallas, and so I moved to Dallas."

As Medina raised her family, she worked at a radio station as a theater critic, which gave her the chance to continue to work in the theater industry.

"I had a full-time job working in broadcast media, and I just kind of put acting to the side," Medina said. "I had the opportunity to read and critique the scripts when they did a revised, artistic-directed version of 'A Doll's House' here in Dallas. It was very special."

It was not long before Medina decided to once again pursue an acting career. In 1994, she planned to move to Hollywood with her friends in time for pilot season. Her plans were halted by the Northridge earthquake that struck Los Angeles in January of that year. Then in 1995, she made the trip.

"When I got to Hollywood, I saw a flier for Mae West audition, and I also saw one for Marilyn Monroe," Medina said. "I was a huge Marilyn Monroe fan and I said to a friend who worked at Universal Studios in Florida, 'I have always wanted to be Marilyn Monroe.' He said, 'Well, I don't see you as a Marilyn, but I do see you as a Mae West.' I was kind of insulted. I thought, well isn't she some kind of overweight lady who walks around like she is a madam in a brothel? He said, 'She was a pioneer for women in Hollywood.'"

She was convinced. Medina found old movies and bought books written by Mae West. She studied her inside and out. Once she was ready, she called Universal Studios to request an audition, but she quickly realized that approach would likely not lead to a job. Instead, she called the office a second time -- in character.

"I got on the phone and said, 'Hey, this is Mae West,'" Medina said, in the voice of West. "'I want to come up and see you sometime, but I didn't know when your auditions are.' She put me through to a voice mail, and at then end of every voice mail there was, 'If this is an emergency please call such-and-such person at this extension.' I would leave a message there. Then I would go to the next voice mail and I left about 15 voice mails, one connected to the other."

The next day someone returned her call.

"The guy said, 'Who is this?'" Medina said. "'You know, I thought you were Victoria, which is our No. 1 Mae West, but that is a good thing. Why don't you come in?'"

She got the job. From there Medina gained experience and close friendships. She began impersonating Marilyn Monroe and eventually Ethel Mertz, Lucille Ball's friend from the television series "I Love Lucy." In 1999, she appeared as Ethel as a part of AT&T's "I Love Lucy" float in the Rose Parade.

On Aug. 6, which would be the late Lucille Ball's 100th birthday, Medina will be in New York as Ethel in the celebration of the milestone.

"There are several Lucys out there," Medina said. "There is one in particular that does all the big events. I am the only Ethel in the whole world."

Medina moved back to Dallas in 2003. Her culmination of life experiences have brought her to Encore, where she has the opportunity to work with Alzheimer's and dementia patients and use her acting and singing talents to spread joy throughout the establishment.

"The two roles have kind of married themselves here at Encore," Medina said. "A lot of Alzheimer's patients cling to memories that are sometimes not positive. As long as they can look at something from the past and laugh, they go home happy. They 'Mae' not remember, but their feelings and emotions do carry over. Laughter makes you forget, even if it's just for a minute, so we try to keep it rolling. We just have a ball -- a Lucille Ball."

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