up in my house taking up space or will be donated to Goodwill all too soon. Home Instead Senior Care has a very good list of things seniors will truly appreciate for gifts. I’ve also added some ideas and elaborated on some.
Our Blog
77 Year-Old with Dementia
Mr. N is a 77 year-old man with moderate to advanced dementia. His family contacted us, looking to move him from another city, to Portland to be closer to his family. Mr. N’s wife had recently passed away and he was living in a city with no family members nearby…
We initially toured three communities together, some were stand-alone memory care communities, and others had assisted living and/or independent living on the same campus. All of them would meet Mr. N’s needs, but his daughter felt most positive about the third community we visited. She went back with her sister to revisit that one, and they put down a deposit to hold the available room.
Independent Living for Younger Gentleman
Mr. P is a 58 year old disabled veteran. He was living in an apartment but didn’t feel a sense of community there. Being a very social person, he felt confined to his apartment by his disability and having to get in and out of his wheelchair to go anywhere. The apartment complex was all ages, and while he enjoyed hearing the laughter of children at play, what Mr. P really wanted was to live with people closer to his own age. He’s considered young by Independent Living standards, but he has always related well to people older than himself.
Mr. P contacted us to find out what was available in the Portland area that would suit him. His budget wasn’t large, so that narrowed our search a bit, and we were glad he was willing to look in all areas of Portland and not limit himself to one particular neighborhood. After gathering pertinent information about him, we discussed three different Independent Living communities which would meet his needs, but in the end, Mr. P only wanted to go see one of them. He was driving, even with his limited mobility, so we decided to meet at the Independent Living community to take a tour.
Couple from Out-of-State Moving to Assisted Living
Mr. and Mrs. J are in their mid-80’s. They lived in an independent living community in Arizona. Their adult children live in the Portland area and wanted their parents to live closer to them, since Mr. and Mrs. J had no family nearby in Arizona.
Mr. J was independent and very healthy, but Mrs. J was having quite a bit of unsteadiness on her feet, which caused a fall that resulted in a fracture. Because of the fracture, she was rehabilitating in a skilled nursing facility to get her up and walking again.
87 Year-Old Female Downsizing to Independent Living
Mrs. F was an 87 year-old woman who recently lost her husband. They lived in a large condominium in Portland. Mrs. F realized that the condo was too large for her by herself, and she did not want to continue living there alone. She didn’t want to deal with the maintenance, nor have to cook all her meals and clean her apartment. She wanted the social activities, meals, and housekeeping that come with an independent living community…
Mrs. F was referred to us by a mortgage broker who had worked with her several years previously, and they had remained good friends. We met with Mrs. F to determine what she was looking for in her new home. She had already made a list of exactly what she wanted: a studio or 1 bedroom apartment, ability to make her own breakfast, a Catholic church nearby, assisted living nearby or on the same campus, and a smaller community. She had a preference in mind of where in the Portland area she wanted to live, and she was working with a fairly tight budget.
Couple Moves to Assisted Living
Mr. and Mrs. F were living in their own home but finding it increasingly difficult to take care of themselves. Their daughter lived nearby but had a full-time job, and she came over and helped out on a daily basis. After working all day, she went to their house and cooked for them, helped them clean up, and gave them their medications. She hired in-home care, but Mrs. F did not want a caregiver in her home and resisted it. Their daughter was feeling burned out, and she called us for help in finding placement for her parents.
