tracy allen
Jul 2022
About 6 months ago it became time for our mom to move from her home to somewhere that would be able to look after her 24 hours a day. My wife started to look around for a suitable Assisted Living Facility. Shortly after she started, she received a call from a person who helps families find a care facility for their loved one. The caller said, "Tracy, there is a home you should look at, today. They rarely have openings, have been in the business for over 30 years, the Owner is actively involved, and their reputation in the industry is stellar." So, we went there. The interview went very well. Checkmarks in all the proper boxes regarding everything about All Seasons. We placed our reservation. And then we planned the move. Handling something like this with a person who is 95 can be a challenge. Complete upheaval in our mom's life. We did everything we could to minimize her stress, fear, and anger. We took her on site before her move to look everything over and to meet the staff. We thought it went well. Mom wasn't so sure. But, agreed to the move and to give it a chance from her move in in late November 2021 until April of 2022. We moved her in and when time for us to leave for the day, it was emotional for us. Worry, guilt, all of it. The next day we went to visit. At the check in we had to fill in the covid questionaire, temp recorded, the usual things. (FYI, throughout all the Covid times, not one case happened here, not even 1) The next day, mom's main caregiver, Tami, came up and told me that she thinks mom might have a UTI and would like to get tests run. Our mom has struggles with life long UTI's. She's had so many that she does not present symptoms early in an incident that are readily obvious to those around her. Well, as subtle as they were, Tami caught this right off. We had the tests run and yes, she had one. 1st day in, no familiarity, subtle symptoms presenting and it was observed and acted upon. This level of awareness and involvement proved to be the bar for our mom's stay there until she passed away in early June. Mom came to accept where she was and then it shifted to an appreciation for how she was treated every single day by those who are there to care for the 6 clients who lived there. Almost every single time we picked her up to go to somewhere the conversation in the car started with mom telling us something about 1 or more of the caregivers, about what they had done for her, something they cooked, their attention to her needs & well being, etc. It was always with a tone of wonderment this had happened & a gratefulness. Imagine our relief. Medically, the owner, Lisa, a nurse, was on top of things her staff would report to her or for things she observed herself. They would let us know and we could decide the next steps. They all would know how she was eating, sleeping, getting around. They would reach out when they needed to. They would talk with us each and every time we would come over to visit and update us on her condition, activity level, mental state, all of it. They never tired of doing this for us. And, we were there a lot. We also saw that they interacted with the other clients in the same way. Genuine concern, care, empathy are words that come to mind. Lisa, even after 30 or more years in this business would handle night shifts sometimes. She participated from the inside not the outside. Tami, the principle caregiver for mom, treated her lovingly and most professionally every day she was there. She would wake mom up gently each morning in a slow, gentle process to bring her out of her sleep. Nikki & Sierra, always knew what mom had been up to, how she was doing each day, and had stories about something that brought mom joy recently. And, were keenly observant of her condition, too. As our mom's life wound down, until her passing in her sleep on June 6, she was well cared for, was paid attention to, was well fed, was encouraged to get up and dress each day and participate in her own life. This she did, happily.
