Why Did You Move into a Senior Community? An Interview

Senior Seasons speaks with a client, Monty Hepner, about his decision to move into a senior community.
SS: Monty, how long have you lived in your independent/assisted living community and why did you decide to make this move?
Monty: My wife, Lisa, and I moved into this senior complex over six years ago. We chose an independent apartment because we didn’t need any personal care but Lisa was starting to need more attention than I could provide in the home where we had raised our two daughters. Lisa’s dementia meant that I needed to do all the cooking, shopping and running of the house. I no longer had the time to spend being a husband to Lisa because of all the chores. Although our daughters are nearby, I didn’t want to burden them and their families so by moving here we were able to get the support and care that we needed. At first, Lisa and I made lots of new friends and participated in the trips and activities. As Lisa’s dementia progressed she did less and less but I could still be fairly engaged because we had friends and caregivers who could look in on Lisa if I was out.
SS: Were there any surprises when you made this move?
Monty: Yes! We expected the transition from a single-family home into an apartment to be very restrictive but in fact it was liberating. We started to treat our apartment as we used to treat our bedroom and we spent lots of time in the dining room, living room, activities rooms and gym with our new friends, our old neighbors who visited and our family. We had fun some days just walking down to get our mail and sharing stories with people we passed.
SS: Do you have any regrets about moving here?
Monty: Other than, “we should have done it earlier”? Not really.  It was difficult as Lisa needed more and more help but it would have been more difficult if we were alone in our big house. Here the caregivers were people the two of us have known for a long time and that made it easier on both of us. It was easy for neighbors (and staff!) to drop by to see Lisa and try to cheer her up, too. And, I guess, they helped me get through a difficult time also. I really miss Lisa. She has been gone for almost two years now but I still have my friends, both the old and the new, and that makes it easier.
SS: Any advice to give our readers?
Monty: Well, I guess everyone is different but this sure turned out to be a good decision for us. Everyone should consider it in light of their own situation.