blog
I recently lost my mother-in-law who was 91 years old and fully
alert to the very end. She had a strong heart and we truly believed she would reach 100.
Mary spent the last three months of her life in a continuing care centre. When I accompanied my husband on his weekly visits I made some observations. I was quite impressed with the outward and inward physical appearance and layout of the facility, also the area around it (no noisy construction). Upon entering it was very quiet.
On the first day we went one elevator didn't work so we went up another one that was normally used for deliveries. Mary was on the third floor in a shared room. It was very quiet up there too, no noisy chatter or conversation. Her room-mate was in bed in a coma, it appeared she had suffered a stroke. Mary in her wheelchair, conversed with us as she had always done when she lived independently in her own home.
My mother-in-law required 24 hour care because one leg was amputated below the knee. She was supposed to get a prosthetic leg but a leg did not come with her- I was told by management.
Christmas drew near, we brought her a large poinsettia. The next day she was admitted to hospital for cellulitis treatment and was released a few days later. In the meantime, the poinsettia had died because no-one watered it.
In the New Year we asked her if she was getting good care. Not one to complain, she simply said they are short-staffed. On another occasion she said she did not get breakfast.
Mary lasted only three months in this care-facility. It was sad to see the lack of privacy (a blind man in a wheelchair listened in on our conversation on one occasion. Mary said she sometimes heard laughter from her room-mate (the one in the coma) in the middle of the night. We wondered if she was frightened by it or if her room was locked at night.
Every time we visited Mary, we did not see any of the other residents with visitors. We realized how fortunate she was to have all four of her children visit, usually on a daily basis. We were happy to see the amputated leg had healed beautifully.
Mary paid about $1600 per month for 24 hour care plus extra for laundry, clothing tags, etc. Is it 24 hour care? If one caregiver looks after six, eight or twelve people, do the math. Its a 2 hour care or 4 hour care-facility at best.
It has been two months since Mary died in the hospital (after being admitted for a urinary tract infection) and we are still unclear as to what the cause of death was.