Players offer lesson on how to treat elderly

Loyola’s basketball players’ hearts raced as they sprinted toward the fan section at Philips Arena in Atlanta.

They roared toward the rafters in exhilaration and collided into each other with aggressive bear hugs, playfully punching each other in celebration as college students in their 20s are apt to do.

They had just made it official that they were headed to the Final Four — one of the biggest moments of their young lives. It was Saturday night. It was time to party.

But then each player spotted 98-yearold Sister Jean Dolores Schmidt smiling and soaking in the scene as a sea of maroon-and-gold confetti clustered around her wheelchair. They paused.

Raucous revelry shifted to sweet happiness as players gently approached their team chaplain. Muscular, sweaty, towering men bent down and gave the 5-foot-nun delicate hugs, some resting their heads on her shoulder for a moment or lightly patting her back.

They gently took her small wrinkled hands in their own strong young hands. They reminded Sister Jean how glad they were she could share it with them.

“She’s just a wonderful person,” junior guard Marques Townes said, beaming at the thought of her. “Just to have her around and her presence and her aura, when you see her, it’s just like the world is just great because of her spirit and her faith in us and Loyola basketball.”

The nation has been captivated by Sister Jean.

But while she has become an “international celebrity” with a best-selling bobblehead, let’s not forget why her relationship with Loyola’s players is so heartwarming. Let it inspire us.

Because for the most part, America ignores its elderly.

We don’t make time for them, listen to them or value their experiences and opinions.

Seventeen percent of the 65-andolder population lives in social isolation, whichposeshealth risks. Fifty-one percent of people at least 75 years old live alone. Income inequality among America’s elderly is among the starkest of developed nations.

So if you’re giddy about Sister Jean at the tournament, take time to check on an elderly neighbor on your block. Bring them their mail, rake their leaves, just stop by for a chat.

When you buy a T-shirt or socks with her image, donate to Sister Jean’s religious community Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary.