A Family Thanks The Elms |
Thursday, May 2, 2013
|
Hello Maribel,
If you did not hear this already, my mother, Mary Walton, passed away April 1. My sister and I had a nice conversation with Mom over Easter weekend and my brother was by her side when she passed away. I hope you will pass this note along to Scott and the Staff. It is a story of my mom's journey and our wonderful time at The Elms.
As you know, when we first came to The Elms in October of 2011, my mom was already quite ill. After being told about her diagnosis, CBGD (a rare and aggressive form of Parkinson's Disease), the neurologist would not release mom from the hospital until she found a board and care home or an assisted living facility. After researching 25 possible options we were very excited about touring The Elms. My mom had lived in San Carlos about 30 years before so she was familiar with the area. She always said the building looked like the apartments in the neighborhood and did not "scream" assisted living. We met Kathleen who took her time showing us around the building. She makes an amazing first impression. Then we met Curley and I knew our fate was sealed. The idea of having a dog made the decision easy for everyone. In a matter of thirty minutes my mom went from being sad to wanting to move immediately. The case manager suggested we may be better off going directly into board and care (we knew she was probably right) but the idea of mom going directly from independent living directly into board and care was too much of a change. She always valued her independence and we felt compelled to give it a chance. I will be forever grateful when Scott called to say my mom had gotten the apartment she wanted. I left the next day to return home with a huge sense of relief.
My brother, sister and I loved coming to The Elms. Amanda, manning the front desk, seemed like an old friend in two visits. Curley came by frequently. We took mom to Laurel Street for lunches and an occasional dinner when she felt up to it. We enjoyed meals in the dining room and meeting the other residents. Sitting in the sun on the front patio in the afternoon was our favorite past time. We decorated mom's room (333) it awesome. My brother was able to visit at least once a week and my sister and I visited as much as possible from the East Coast.
Maribel was instrumental in helping us evaluate mom's needs. My mom quickly settled into the downstairs dining, finding a great friend in Don Richardson. She enjoyed the company of her dining companions and the staff immensely. It was the happiest I had seen her in years. Unfortunately, things quickly changed. After 9 trips to the hospital in three months (COPD and heart related) we enlisted the services of the AIM program, a light version of hospice. Maribel made more services available to my mom including dressing her, medication management and a wheel chair escort to and from the dining room. Looking back her decline seems so rapid. After another hospitalization in April we began to use the service Hospice and Senior Assist to provide full time care 8AM to 5PM. At first we hoped it would be temporary and we could cut back the hours. That proved to be impossible as my mom's needs increased almost daily. Again Maribel and her staff stepped up to help with our growing demands. Neredia was amazing. My mom always smiled when she walked into the room.
As my mom's mobility became compromised and she no longer had use of her arms or legs, we faced the difficult decision to move to Board and Care. Her lungs were failing and we needed a full time care option. This was a huge challenge. After visiting 30 board and care homes, we only liked two, each with 6 beds and each of them with no availability. It turned out one of the two homes, which did have a room became available decided they did not have the ability to care for mom. We were down to one. With the help of Mission Hospice, a wonderful group of people, we were able to move mom to Enchanted Gardens. Leaving The Elms was tough for all of us. We never wanted her stay to end and we knew this would be her final move.
The people at Enchanted Gardens took wonderful care of my mother. Again we were so lucky to find the right care for this stage of life. Many of the staff from The Elms came to visit my mom. I want to thank each and everyone who took the time to stop by. She missed all of you so very much. It is a testament to the wonderful people who work at The Elms
So to all of you,
Thanks for making a tough year a wonderful year. I will make every effort to come back and visit.
With my most heartfelt thanks,
D'Anna Hardesty and Family
If you did not hear this already, my mother, Mary Walton, passed away April 1. My sister and I had a nice conversation with Mom over Easter weekend and my brother was by her side when she passed away. I hope you will pass this note along to Scott and the Staff. It is a story of my mom's journey and our wonderful time at The Elms.
As you know, when we first came to The Elms in October of 2011, my mom was already quite ill. After being told about her diagnosis, CBGD (a rare and aggressive form of Parkinson's Disease), the neurologist would not release mom from the hospital until she found a board and care home or an assisted living facility. After researching 25 possible options we were very excited about touring The Elms. My mom had lived in San Carlos about 30 years before so she was familiar with the area. She always said the building looked like the apartments in the neighborhood and did not "scream" assisted living. We met Kathleen who took her time showing us around the building. She makes an amazing first impression. Then we met Curley and I knew our fate was sealed. The idea of having a dog made the decision easy for everyone. In a matter of thirty minutes my mom went from being sad to wanting to move immediately. The case manager suggested we may be better off going directly into board and care (we knew she was probably right) but the idea of mom going directly from independent living directly into board and care was too much of a change. She always valued her independence and we felt compelled to give it a chance. I will be forever grateful when Scott called to say my mom had gotten the apartment she wanted. I left the next day to return home with a huge sense of relief.
My brother, sister and I loved coming to The Elms. Amanda, manning the front desk, seemed like an old friend in two visits. Curley came by frequently. We took mom to Laurel Street for lunches and an occasional dinner when she felt up to it. We enjoyed meals in the dining room and meeting the other residents. Sitting in the sun on the front patio in the afternoon was our favorite past time. We decorated mom's room (333) it awesome. My brother was able to visit at least once a week and my sister and I visited as much as possible from the East Coast.
Maribel was instrumental in helping us evaluate mom's needs. My mom quickly settled into the downstairs dining, finding a great friend in Don Richardson. She enjoyed the company of her dining companions and the staff immensely. It was the happiest I had seen her in years. Unfortunately, things quickly changed. After 9 trips to the hospital in three months (COPD and heart related) we enlisted the services of the AIM program, a light version of hospice. Maribel made more services available to my mom including dressing her, medication management and a wheel chair escort to and from the dining room. Looking back her decline seems so rapid. After another hospitalization in April we began to use the service Hospice and Senior Assist to provide full time care 8AM to 5PM. At first we hoped it would be temporary and we could cut back the hours. That proved to be impossible as my mom's needs increased almost daily. Again Maribel and her staff stepped up to help with our growing demands. Neredia was amazing. My mom always smiled when she walked into the room.
As my mom's mobility became compromised and she no longer had use of her arms or legs, we faced the difficult decision to move to Board and Care. Her lungs were failing and we needed a full time care option. This was a huge challenge. After visiting 30 board and care homes, we only liked two, each with 6 beds and each of them with no availability. It turned out one of the two homes, which did have a room became available decided they did not have the ability to care for mom. We were down to one. With the help of Mission Hospice, a wonderful group of people, we were able to move mom to Enchanted Gardens. Leaving The Elms was tough for all of us. We never wanted her stay to end and we knew this would be her final move.
The people at Enchanted Gardens took wonderful care of my mother. Again we were so lucky to find the right care for this stage of life. Many of the staff from The Elms came to visit my mom. I want to thank each and everyone who took the time to stop by. She missed all of you so very much. It is a testament to the wonderful people who work at The Elms
So to all of you,
Thanks for making a tough year a wonderful year. I will make every effort to come back and visit.
With my most heartfelt thanks,
D'Anna Hardesty and Family
posted by San Carlos Elms at 2:44 PM
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