Do You Know the Best Way to Address the Topic of Assisted Living with a Loved One? A Good Start would be stressing all the Positive attributes.

November 5, 2014 by ·

Dad Was So Miserable: How I Convinced Him to Move to Assisted Living in Mobile, AL

“ One Senior Man Finally agreeing to Move to an Assisted Living Facility in Mobile, AL”

For the longest time, my father seemed to be completely miserable at home. He was lonely and wasn’t really doing much at all. He used to be a very strong and independent person who was always there to help out, no matter what was required. He enjoyed working with his hands, building things, and working in the yard.Assisted Living Mobile AL

As he got older, his strength waned and the weaker that he got, the fewer things he was able to do. I would talk about assisted living options with him through the years, but every time I would bring it up he would just shoot down the concept and say that he was going to spend the rest of his life where he was.

At first, I didn’t see a major problem with this. After all, I had to think of how I would feel in the same situation. I mean, if you have been living in the same house for 40 or more years, even if you were feeling lonely and isolated, I kept thinking that I would want to die in the place where I had become so comfortable.

Yet I noticed a trend in my father’s life: he was becoming more and more miserable with each passing week. He would complain about the things he couldn’t do. He would talk about how much he missed my mother. He would talk about friends who passed away or moved too far from him to visit, because they wanted to be closer to their loved ones.

It seemed that all he was doing anymore was complaining and being miserable. Finally I began to push an assisted living as an option once again. I began to talk about the positive aspects of living in an assisted living facility.

I talked about the activities he could take part in. I talked about the new friends he could make and the prospect of connecting with friends he already had and hadn’t spoken to in a long time.

I especially mentioned the fact that he wouldn’t have to see his home begin to deteriorate around him simply because he was unable to care for the way that he wanted to.

The more I talked about the positive attributes of assisted living, the more interest he had in it. He finally decided to make a move. In the two months since he has moved into his assisted living facility, there has been a tremendous change in his emotional state. He is beginning to get involved in more activities, and is talking about some of the friends he has made. He seems so much happier, and that is what is important to me.

If you or an aging loved one are considering Assisted Living, contact Ashbury Manor Specialty Care and Assisted Living in Mobile AL, at 251-317-3017.

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About Cindy Johnson

Ashbury Manor’s Administrator since 2008, Cindy Johnson is a long-time expert in the assisted living field. Prior to her arrival at Ashbury Manor, Cindy managed acquisitions and crisis management for existing and new larger senior care project developments for eleven years. As regional manager for an Oregon-based assisted living management company, Cindy was directly responsible for operations for five 50-65 bed assisted living facilities. As manager during the transition to new ownership, Cindy reorganized internal operations and conducted leadership training for Executive Directors. As a result of her management and expertise, one of the company’s facilities (in Ocala, Florida) received a deficiency-free survey, resulting in the lifting of a moratorium on operation.

A nurse for 36 years, senior care has always been Cindy’s passion. Desiring to work more closely with residents, Cindy became a Category II Administrator in 2005. As Ashbury Manor’s Administrator, Cindy understands the complexities associated with dementia and cognitive impairment and she has fallen in love with seniors with dementia or cognitive impairment and their families.

Cindy is Treasurer of the local “Senior Coalition” chapter. She enjoys mentoring new candidates who want to become administrators.

As a 16-bed facility, with Cindy's training and experience, our residents and their families can be sure Ashbury Manor’s carefully selected staff provides the expertise of a larger facility while maintaining the individualized personal care of a small special needs home.
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