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Shaking Off the Dog Days of Summer

Karen Moriarty, Carillon Assisted Living President and CEOWhile summer makes its last hurrah, the so-called dog days of summer seem to stretch out before us in a slow, sultry haze of heat and humidity.  This time of year  tends to inspire idleness, a putting off until tomorrow what can, and probably should, be done today.  For seniors in need of assisted living, putting off the move to a licensed care community is an invitation to worsening health, an increase in falls and the onset of depression.

“I only wish I had made the decision sooner,” is a familiar refrain from the seniors who call Carillon Assisted Living home.  It is natural to be hesitant about what is arguably one of the biggest moves in a person’s life.  But when today’s hesitation stretches into days, weeks and months of inaction, seniors languish and ultimately pay the price.

And a steep price it is. Health woes go undiscovered and untreated. Medications are not taken routinely, on time and in the correct dose. Meals are not balanced or are skipped altogether, causing frailty to set in and take hold. The risk of falls looms large, as physical limitations go unaided and barriers at home go unchecked.   Isolation is perhaps the most insidious – and overlooked — threat to a senior’s good health.

If Mom is less able to get out and about, has difficulty caring for her home, and to some extent, herself, if she can no longer entertain family and friends the way she once did, is it any wonder that she seems “less like herself” these days? Depression is an epidemic among today’s seniors, and isolation is so often to blame. The loss of one’s independence is devastating, but fortunately, it can be reclaimed easier than we imagine.

“I only wish I had made the decision sooner.” That familiar refrain from our seniors is also a common regret expressed by their family members.  Adult children long for their parents to be “their old self” again. They want to watch as Mom bakes her famous pound cake, or to see Dad playing cards and cheering on his favorite team with his friends, just like he used to.

What they find at Carillon, seniors and their children alike, is that aging has very little to do with independence.  The right home makes all things possible. Expert care does more than just ease discomfort; it removes barriers.  A gracious, well-planned community is not a place to sit and wait but rather an open door to experience a rich, rewarding life.

Don’t wait for a change in the weather before choosing a better life. Call or come by Carillon today, and rediscover summer as it once was – long, languid days spent savoring the  sweetest, sunniest time of the year.

Posted in From the President on August 29, 2014

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