Bickford of Muscatine

Road to Happiness! Stay on the Road to Happiness with a locked in lifetime rate and NO community fee in assisted living. Please call Jessie for more details @ 260-6211.

This has been an eventful week here at Bickford of Muscatine! We had the pleasure of having Matt Barber here to sing for us and he did such a great job all of the residents loved his voice and the songs he sang brought back good memories about her husband singing to her for one residents! I was so happy that they enjoyed him so much, as I am not familiar with all of the entertainers that come here!

We had Italian Day this week and all of the residents enjoyed trying various European cheeses and wine, also had trivia about Italy and learning interesting facts! We also made personal pizza with the residents! Everyone was awesome at participating for this event with dressing up and being involved!

Women's Club was a good time as Pat taught us how to make her super easy ice cream sandwich cake! All of the ladies enjoyed helping her make it!

Growing up, I had very special relationships with both of my grandmothers. Living in a small town allowed me the privileged of living across the street from one, and 3 blocks away from the other. Weekend sleepovers were very common and something I looked forward to. As I grew up and both grandmas aged, they both eventually made their way into my care in the long term settings where i worked. . My grandma Pat was in skilled care in a nursing home I previously worked, where her stay was short term. Then when I was a director at the Burlington Bickford, my mom moved my grandma Helen in as she was no longer able to live on her own. I, of course, made a habit of checking on both, and spending extra time with them after work to ensure they had what they needed, and to make sure they were comfortable. I vividly remember a conversation with both of them about their happiness. My grandma Pat was so home sick. She wanted to get back to Keokuk to her home of 50 plus years in the worst way, to the point she called my uncle and demanded he come get her regardless if her therapy was done or not! My grandma Helen's story was a bit different. My grandma Helen was not able to be alone, but she didn't see it that way. She was out of her element, and missed my mom and aunt something fierce. She would walk down to my office daily, wanting me to call my mom to come get her. We knew she was in the best place, but it was hard to convince her of that. Eventually she settled in, and everyone began to love her as I did. When my grandma would march down to my office looking for my mom, I would sit down with her and reminisce about her life to get her mind focused on something other than returning home. She would always eventually make her way back to her life growing up and raising her family. We would have a good talk, and she was happy once again. The picture below is a picture of me and my grandma Helen on my wedding day. i love this picture. it depicts our relationship, regardless of her failing memory. I cherish these relationships with my grandmothers and look forward to my own daughters having the same connection with my mom.