Meet Linda and Diana: Instant Connection to Lifelong Friends

One of life’s greatest gifts is a friend, someone who helps encourage and comfort us in the dark times and laugh and celebrate with us in the light. Papa member Linda and Papa Pal Diana have found this kind of beautiful friendship in each other—and recently shared their story with Salt Lake City’s KSL.

Both feel lucky to have their families closeby, but they know there’s nothing like a good friend.

Linda is in her late 70s and spent nearly a decade working in the airline industry as a young adult before taking a step back to raise her family. Not only did she get to travel the world, she even got her private pilot license at age 26. “I thought I was Amelia Earhart,” she says with a smile. 

Several health issues prompted Linda to enroll with Papa, a benefit included in her Medicare Advantage plan from Select Health. First, she had back issues. Then, she had a fall and broke her ankle, which led to multiple surgeries and a long recovery. At the same time, she had four clots in her lungs and came down with shingles, all while caring for her husband, who had been diagnosed with terminal cancer.

There was a point where Linda didn’t think she would ever get better. “It was a disaster,” she says. “I was in bad shape. It was really hard.” 

But there were two things that got her to start moving again: her dog and her Papa Pal, Diana.

Diana is a semi-retired real estate agent and 10 years younger than Linda. Before she became a Papa Pal, she was a Papa member herself. She needed help while recovering from surgery and found out about Papa through Select Health, her insurance provider as well. Diana was so impressed with her Papa Pal. She asked how she got started with Papa and thought to herself, “I could do that! Why not? It’d be fun to give back.” And that’s exactly what she did.

Since becoming a Papa Pal in June 2022, Diana has taken over 550 visits, and nearly 40 members have requested her as their Preferred Pal. Diana had to step back from the 10-14 visits per week she took last year, as she prepared for—then recovered from—a total hip replacement earlier this year. She’s also since renewed her real estate license and started working again. But she continues to see Linda and some of her other favorite members.

“It makes me so happy to think I am able to make a difference to so many people,” she says. “[Being a Papa Pal] has paid me back tenfold. I haven’t even considered this a job. I consider it a blessing. I consider it an appointment. I consider it something so much bigger because I’ve received so much more than I’ve given. I really really love it.”

When Diana first visited Linda, it was just for help around the house while both Linda and her husband were struggling with health challenges. Even though Linda was in pain, they clicked immediately. “When I met her,” Linda says, “I didn't expect this warmth and feeling of coming home. She has brought a ray of sunshine into our home.”

They talk about everything—their children, grandchildren, growing older, fashion, cooking. “Linda makes me cry,” Diana says, “because we have deep conversations.” They bond over religion; even though they don’t share the same faith, they value each other’s views. They are both spiritual people who rely on a higher being to guide their lives. 

Linda’s early life was adventurous, and she misses that. Since it’s been a long time since she could get out and experience things, she loves Diana’s stories about the places she’s been and the people she’s met (including her now-husband). Linda could listen to Diana tell stories for hours. Diana, too, wishes they had more time to talk. “Time goes so fast,” she says. “It never ceases to amaze me how much we have to talk about. It’s so much fun.”

Linda and Diana are both fortunate to have lots of family nearby. Linda lives with her husband and their four children and 18 grandchildren are all within a 35-minute drive away. Diana’s two children and three grandchildren live very close to her and her husband as well—including under the same roof! But they all live busy lives and don’t often have a lot of time to just sit and chat. Linda also doesn’t ever want to feel like a bother to them. 

Having Diana help her with small household tasks provides her with a sense of independence. It feels good not to have to rely on your kids for everything, she says. There is also a generational gap, Linda notes. It’s nice to have someone closer to your own age who appreciates the same things you do. 

They love each other’s families and feel like they know them after all the hours they’ve spent chatting about them. And Linda was able to meet much of Diana’s family when she attended Diana’s wedding reception last year. “It was just so fun to meet people that love Diana like I love her,” she says.

When Linda and Diana first met, Linda’s husband was battling cancer and they weren’t sure how much longer he would live. Now, he’s in remission and cancer-free. He and Linda recently went on their first road trip in four years to visit friends. The fact that they were able to do that speaks to the healing they’ve both experienced.

But it hasn’t been an easy road. “I felt sick for so long,” Linda says. “Just within the last month, I’ve started feeling good in the mornings.” She says the healing was slow, and that it’s harder to heal as you get older, because the healing and the aging are happening at the same time. 

“I’ve seen her in her worst moments,” Diana says of Linda. “Watching her heal was such a great thing because I’ve seen her suffer so much. To see her today, you wouldn’t have known.”

Linda is so grateful for the physical help she’s received from Diana and Papa, but the friendship the two women have formed is invaluable. Linda had lost hope, and Diana helped restore her faith in herself. Linda says that the real value of Papa isn’t in what Papa Pals do for you physically, but the emotional lift they give.

Linda had an opportunity recently to give back to Diana in a special way. When Diana underwent hip replacement surgery earlier this year, Linda showed up on her doorstep with flowers. It brought Diana so much joy. “We come full circle in life,” she says, “and that was certainly one of those moments.”

When Linda talks about Diana to others, she doesn’t refer to her as her Pal. “I call her my friend.” The feeling is mutual.