About The GOLDEN JOURNEY

      I started The Golden Journey Elder Care Advisory while caring for my own aging parents. I realized the desperate need for my experiences and expertise as the elderly population continues to grow older and this sector of our society increases in number. I learned the hard way how difficult caregiving is and how complex it is to provide all the aspects of elder care.

      I began my care-giving obligations over 10 years ago by recognizing the signs of both my parents' physical and mental difficulties and the start of my Mother's dementia. I, along with the invaluable and continuous help and support of my siblings, realized that the prologue of care for our parents meant first facing the simple fact that they were aging. Once we accepted this, I sat with both parents and talked with them in length about what we needed to do to secure their care for their golden years. I began gathering, organizing and analyzing their assets. Having worked in the financial industry for many years. this task was a familiar one to me. Although a time consuming duty, it was vital to their welfare. I then began managing their bills and checking account as payables became too burdensome for them to cope with.

      As Mom declined further into Alzheimer's and Parkinson's and Dad's physical illnesses continued to take their toll on him, we saw the need for professional caregiving. Her condition was requiring help beyond the scope of what I could provide out of love for her. I was just not qualified or suited to care for her myself, with or without Dad's help. She became wheelchair-bound after a fall and that sudden unexpected change brought about new problems for her, for Dad, and for me.

      I spent several days searching, contacting, scheduling and interviewing numerous caregiving agencies due to the promise we made Mom years earlier - to keep her at home for as long as we possibly could. After deciding on one agency, another several weeks were spent wading through the various care givers to finally find the one compatible with both Mom and Dad, and me. The caregiver needed to provide the level of care I felt Mom needed and deserved in addition to dealing with Dad's anger and hostility about Mom's illness, along with having a stranger in the house. We came to appreciate the importance of high-quality, reputable in-home health care agencies and caregivers. Mom's caregiver was with us for a year and a half, and she became a treasured part of our family, even to this day.

      As another stage of Mom's illness approached, I had to contend with the guilt and sadness of having to remove her from her home. Her condition deteriorated to the point where she could no longer get the level of care she deserved and so urgently needed. Dad's resentment of her worsening condition became too much for him to bear and in turn, became a detriment to both his and her health. I then had the terrible task of telling Dad she couldn't live there anymore.

      After being contacted by a referral service for elderly housing, I spent days trying to find suitable housing for Mom. I visited each and every facility on my list. I took notes on each and every facility, compared and contrasted each and every facility and narrowed down acceptable vs. desireable along with the cost effectiveness of each. Finally came the day when we needed to move Mom to her new home.

      She lived at her "DIGGS" for just short of three months before what I now realize were her final months. She spent the end of her life in hospitals and a first-rate skilled nursing facility. Throughout this sorrowful time, she existed with a myriad of diseases and infections not uncommon to the elderly. She mercifully passed away in her sleep, leaving an ever-empty hole in our hearts.

      My father never recovered from her death and never had I seen a more distraught, sorrowful soul. For three months and 3 days , he visited her grave, listened to her music, displayed every photo he could find of her. His days and nights were spent crying for her. Even our Thursday-night-dinners together became evenings of unbearable sorrow for him. After falling and breaking his ankle, he spent several days in a hospital. We had to move him to a convalescent care facility, oddly enough, the same my mother had been in. While he worked on his physical therapy for his foot, I worked on his housing at a beautiful assisted living facility near my home. We were all very excited about his progress and the start of his new life outside of the constant memories of my Mother in their house.

      Then, as we always fear with the elderly, he suddenly took a downturn and his meager fight to continue without her began to decline rapidly. He was transported to a hospital, again oddly enough, the same at which my Mother had died, and within a week, his health began to fail further. He, just like my Mother, passed away in his sleep. He was finally with her and at peace. Another hole in our hearts that can never be filled.

      Throughout their aging years, my parent's comfort was paramount and their care was of the highest quality. However, this level of care, regardless of their financial condition, required a great deal of time, tears, frustration, energy and patience; most of which many people do not have. The care of my both my parents and their differing ailments educated me and has enabled me with the skills and knowledge to help others in the same or similar situation. Neither of my parents have had the "golden" years they always dreamed of but they have had the best care available.

      My parents were the reason I started this business and it is for them that we try to help as many elderly as possible. After separate but equally devastating illnesses, we take some comfort knowing they are finally together and that comfort allows us to continue our work for them.