Hello, and welcome to the Seniors for Living blog.

Seniors for Living is a a free service that helps you and your family research, evaluate, contact, and compare senior housing options such as assisted living, Alzheimer’s Care, independent living, retirement living, home care and continuing care.

My name is Elizabeth and this blog will be a place where we can learn about and discuss the trends, the challenges and the ups and downs of senior care.

Like many people my age (43), I am raising young children along with being responsible for my aging father. I’m a nurse, and my boss calls me the “Sandwich Generation Poster Child.”

As an only child with no extended family, I knew there would be a day when I’d be the one in charge, but until about 5 years ago, the idea was largely theoretical.

In 2003, my mother was diagnosed with lung cancer and the story began.

I knew I had been issued my Sandwich Generation membership card the day my mother was in the hospital, my father was in the ER in the same hospital, and I couldn’t get to either one of them because my husband wasn’t there, and I had a 2 year old in tow.

Despite being in relatively poor health at the time of her diagnosis, she actually did pretty well through chemotherapy and radiation. She had a few setbacks along the way, one of which was pneumonia with a recovery course that landed her in a nursing home for rehab.

That was my introduction to finding living arrangements since, for reasons still a bit unclear to me, we had less than 24 hours to find a nursing home for her.

In the summer of 2006, when it became apparent that she didn’t have much longer, my father and I moved her (at her wish) from home to the hospice residence where she died.

I can’t say enough good things about hospice and the kind people who work there.

Less than 48 hours after her funeral, my father’s old back injury became a problem, and he ultimately ended up in a wheelchair for 2 months. He was 74 and worked full-time (still does) and he lived alone, so everything was up to me.

We eventually got into a routine where I’d pick him up in the mornings and take him and his wheelchair to work, get him settled in, go to my job and I picked him up in the afternoon, took him home and got him situated there.

Looking back on it, I guess I had my own little assisted living facility.

He eventually had surgery and made a full recovery, returning to work in less than 3 weeks.

I’m fortunate that he doesn’t live far from me and that he’s fine in his home. However, I know there will be a day when we’ll have to look at different arrangements, and I know I have to be vigilant in monitoring for any changes.

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