Originally published on June 20, 2013 at allaboutestates.ca
My friend’s mother won the lottery!
How much money did she win? Nothing
What gift did she win? Nothing
So, what did she win? A bed at ________________ Long Term Care facility!
No kidding. This is exactly how families feel when they get their first choice for a placement bed. It was a dark and stormy afternoon (yup- you know where this is heading) and mom was not doing well. In addition to $5,000 a month for her retirement residence, she was paying close to another $5,000 in private care.
Over $10,000.00 monthly and still the family was getting called by the residence to say that mom was failing and that her care requirements exceeded what they could provide. Three places chosen and all the stars aligned because mom was offered a bed at her first choice within 2 days of putting her name on the crisis list. Hard to believe yet true. As we get older, different things make us happy- and knowing that our parent is going to be well looked after and there will be enough funds to provide for her care- is probably (at least for many of us) at the top of the list.
Audrey Miller