Marion came to us from another community where she was declining quickly due to memory loss. She was fearful of the dining room so she stopped going for meals. Her family noticed increased weight loss and were worried for her. When she came to Bickford we knew about her fears of the dining room and we had to come up with a solution. Kim and Bev both offered to take their breaks when Marion ate. They sat at her table, ate with her, and because Marion loved babies so much they played videos of babies on their phones, in order to distract Marion and keep her seated. Marion became excited for meal time again and she was able to put on some weight!

Lillian has one complaint here - the food. We cannot change the menu so we struggle with enriching her happiness. When we've asked if we can bring in something special for her, she refuses and says she's fine.  One day she asked Jerry for a step ladder so she could take all of her “pretties” down from on top of her cabinets to wash them. He didn’t want to do it for her because it was so important to her to be independent so he decided he would help her. She did allow him to dry them, but gave him instructions all the way and Lillian was very specific on how each pretty were to be placed back on top of the cabinet. Lillian doesn’t even talk about the food now, she just talks about how shiny her pretties are now that we were able to help her.

Margaret had trusted our family to help care for her husband of over 60 years, John, however she was very protective of him since his stroke and inability to speak and communicate. Every day she would wait at the door for the caregiver taking the next shift to arrive. She wanted to make sure that person was here and ready to care for John’s needs appropriately. Margaret never left his side - she wheeled him down to meals and back to his room and spent every minute with him. Unfortunately, John passed away recently. We had a special bear made for Margaret out of John’s shirts and whenever we visit her in her apartment, she always has the bear near her. It’s just a small remembrance of her precious husband and the time they spent together. Now, Margaret did doing remarkably well. She participates in activities and has made a few friends. We know John would be super proud of her!