Dianne F.
March 2020
4 years ago, my mother-in-law and father-in-law were living at home. She was addicted to physician prescribed narcotics and bed ridden. He had had dementia for over 15 years. At that point they required full time in home aides and push in PT, nursing and medication over-site as well as psychological counseling. I was providing their meals and shopping for the six months each year that we snowbird here. Things became unsustainable when my mother-in-law started to require a two person lift to get her out of bed or into the shower. We contacted A Place for Mom and after visiting 6 choices, settled on Brookdale which is now owned by Discovery Villages. They were kind enough to allow both of them to reside in a 2 room apartment together. This was a hard move, neither one wanted to leave their home and independence behind, but we were out of options. Her addiction was being supported by physician shopping, and his confusion was getting rapidly worse. Brookdale ( now Discovery) took a huge leap of faith to welcome them to the ASL. The entire staff embraced them and within 6 months, my mother-in-law was up,dressed daily and in a wheelchair, feeding herself and communicating with some of the residents. My father-in-law was more relaxed and very grateful to see his beloved wife return to consciousness. Over the next two years they became involved with activities, and considered Brookdale their home. My mother-in-law envelope started 2 new clubs with herself as the presenter. As their local family, we visited 3-4 times a week, and were always very pleased with their care. There were still trips to the hospital and rehab, but they were less frequent and we could trust that they had all of the appropriate protocol before and after the visits. A huge help was that Hamlin Rehab is minutes away and when one was recovering there, the other could visit daily without our having to transport them. The sign of a good facility is how often the staff turns over. Discovery has many of the original people who served our family so well. We consider Discovery our extended family. They each have challenging jobs, and when treated with respect and kindness, these people go way above their pay grade to treat your family member as one of their own family. Both of my in-laws are now gone. Discovery was their last home. It became a second home for my husband and myself. The people there helped us live through the challenges of aging parents with love, hope, and dignity. We are eternally grateful. The food wasn’t what they were used to... but no one cooks like my mother-in-law! I’d be happy to speak with any family who is considering Discovery Villages as a place for a loved one.
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