Away from your family to take care of mine
Gardenia Place is a board and care home with generous, private residents’ bedrooms. The four women who work at Gardenia Place also live at Gardenia Place…
Memory Care
Stories that discuss memory care facilities, costs, advantages, and limitations.
Finally, a better home for my husband
Skeptical of finding a memory care placement that wouldn’t break my heart or my wallet, I was dispirited by the time I toured Gardenia Place…
Searching for a better home for my husband
During Jackson’s visit home, I realized, with some panic, that my husband, Robert, needed to be moved to a new memory care facility…
When my husband’s care home took a header
Sometimes we must experience a situation from an outsider’s perspective to truly see it. Walking into Robert’s room with Jackson, I saw Robert’s environment…
A bottom-feeding, for-profit business
Now that I’ve got your attention, let me share some truths about the business of elder care that will curl your toenails and curdle your stomach…
Reflections on being human: Part 1
Do we still matter if our capacity to solve problems and create gone? What does it mean to be human when we lose our minds? I think about these…
A funny from dementia’s front lines
Many of my stories have been sad, because dementia is sad. But occasionally, funny things happen that elevate my experience to comic levels and bring a smile…
Moving out of our family home: Part 3
I parked, unbuckled Robert’s seat belt, and ever so gently, I turned his body and pulled his legs out of the car readying to lift him to his feet and…
Moving out of our family home: Part 2
The day dawned overcast and humid, a chilly 52 degrees.This was the day we would move Robert to Daylight Assisted Living and Memory Care…
Moving out of our family home: Part 1
I do well when I’m charged with a project that has a natural end point. Preparing to move Robert to Daylight was gut-wrenching, but with a list I could turn it…