Ed had lived in his independent living apartment for about 5 years before his physical health began to decline to the point that he now required more assistance with his activities of daily living. His daughter Debbie called us feeling frantic. She had just gotten the call that an assisted living apartment had opened up in his community, but he needed to move in within the next two weeks. Debbie planned to come for the move day itself, but she was worried about how Ed would be able to make decisions about what to bring. She was afraid he would want to bring more than would safely fit.
We began by visiting the new assisted living apartment to take photos and measurements and quickly produced a to-scale floorplan kit. We took the kit to Ed’s apartment and met with him for a bit before we got Debbie on FaceTime with us to have a conversation about the floorplan. The kit helped Ed better understand his new space and Debbie felt relieved when Ed said himself “That couch isn’t going to fit!” Happily, his favorite recliner was going to be perfect.
After a discussion with Debbie about the types of clothing Ed liked to wear these days, some of his favorite pieces of art, card games and the few items from his kitchen he would likely need, she began to feel better about being helpful from afar while we now knew the details of what to pack.
We did our regular pack up the day before the move, keeping Ed comfortable that last night in his old apartment. Debbie arrived that evening to have dinner with Ed. In the morning, the two of them were able to have a leisurely breakfast and visit some local good friends while the move took place. Instead of having to use the precious short time Debbie was in town taking care of move details, she was able to spend the time at her dad’s side during a time of big change for him.
