The stunning cost of memory care

I looked across the slick expanse of the long, polished conference table. I was waiting for the executive director of the Daylight Assisted Living and Memory Care facility. The room seemed more fitting for a board of directors meeting or a funeral home than a room in which we’d discuss the suitability of placing my husband in Daylight’s care.

Edie was a small woman who moved without fuss or anxiety. She quietly entered the room and slipped into the captain’s chair at the front of the table near the video display screen, her chest just clearing the table’s edge.

She was deliberate, unhurried, and greeted me with kindness. I felt that I could speak candidly with her and that my questions would be answered truthfully in return.

The next step in our journey

I’d begun my search for a placement for Robert after I concluded that I could not care for him at home. He could no longer be left unattended. I could not lift him, or spend all my time and energy meeting his basic needs. I had decided, reluctantly, and with no small measure of guilt, that I was not the best person to care for him through the course of his disease.

Edie presented the slides that had been prepared for people like me, family members of loved ones with dementia. Her presentation highlighted the features…