Hello, this is Jim Morgan and this is my first blog entry for Caring Transitions Indy North, so my hope is to give you an insight to why I am so passionate about this company and what they do. You may well be able to relate from your own experiences or of those close to you. For me it was from helping my In-Laws, my Mom and my Uncle as each found themselves in a position that the home they had been in for decades wasn't only no longer fitting their need, had become a danger to them.
There are studies that show that the move out of the long time home for a senior is second only to the loss of a loved one in stress level they must endure. So anything that can reduce that should be considered. As the family member who stayed in state there is a stress level as you turn your own life upside down to take on the work load required to make these moves happen.
My In-Laws were no longer safe living at home alone, especially an hour away from us, or even an admitting hospital, so it became clear that we needed to move them close to us and into a place where the care they needed was available. We packed up what they could take with them, got them moved in, and then found it took us the next eighteen months of driving up to their home every weekend to sort, pack, dispose of the contents of their house and two storage units.
My Mom we moved to a place with full-time care when she woke up one day unable to care for herself. Fortunately, after four years of misdiagnosis where they were treating her, a doctor thought he would see if she had Parkinson's and miraculous improvements came about. When we sold her farm that the family had lived for fifty years there was a 2,500 square foot house, plus basement, plus 52x70 pole barn full of things to move, sell, dispose of. For days I would walk through it and just turn around and leave, too overwhelmed to even know where to begin. Once, we began it was every night and weekend for the next sixty days. The average family take nine months to clean out their parent's home, so we are fairly average with one at 18 months and another at 2.
My Uncle we had to move twice in three months. He was no longer safe walking up and down stairs to his upstairs apartment he had lived for the last twenty seven years so we moved him downstairs in the same building. However, we really made a massive mistake, we got him moved in, but not totally. It was functional but not buttoned up, still boxes unpacked and no pictures on the wall. This move, and the disruption was part of the catalyst that pushed him into a very deep and dark depression that almost was too late to return from. His doctor said to find him an assisted care home for the social engagement, this time we moved him in to a fully finished, decorated home and he has thrived. A very tough lesson learned, by us trying to do it all while juggling everything else in life.
Caring Transitions would have changed our lives, all of our lives in each of the stories above had they been here and we knew about them. This is why I feel so evangelical about sharing who they are and what they can do. If I can save families from the nightmares of what is part of these types of moves, nothing would please me more.
Call Renee Anderson at 317-840-7861 or email at randerson@caringtransitions.com and ask for a FREE assessment where she will come meet you at the house, show you what she can do for you. She can help you do Space Planning to know what will fit and where in the new place including closets and cabinets. She can help you Sort, Pack, Move, Unpack, sell what you don't want or need through Online Auctions or Estate Sales, clean out any donations or needing to discard. Truly, this can be life changing for that senior and their family.