My mother was now living by herself

After my father passed away my mother was now living by herself. After 60 odd years living together to now being alone created new pressures. When she was in hospital for a couple of months with heart problems, we came to an agreement that when she recovered, residential care would be the best thing for her.

We found and engaged an aged care consultant to find the right accommodation. The theory is they have more direct linkages into various agencies and in her case, this worked. It is costly, but if you have the resources, and it achieves what you want, it should be worth the investment in the long run.

The ability to be selective was so much better than suddenly finding, you’re in hospital, you need to get out, you’ve been forced to take the first thing that comes along, irrespective of what it is or where it is – which is not ideal at all.