Dear Pat and Karen,
When you dropped by the Admissions office yesterday to pick up your Mom’s personal effects, I noted the strain and the tears. I’d have cried with you as I did in the past. Unfortunately, I had a prior commitment which I needed to honor and felt terrible that we couldn’t sit and talk for awhile.
I know that you enjoy this blog so I thought I’d put my feelings into words in this venue to offer you some comfort and solace during this difficult time.
When I first met you and Karen a short time ago, you had been taking care of Mom for a long time at home. You were her primary caregiver and were clearly at the end of your rope. You had heard and read wonderful things about the Regency Park Nursing Center and noted our 5 star rating on Medicare.gov.
I was moved from the outset by your fierce commitment to act in the best interests of your Mom. You were torn with the knowledge that you were relinquishing her out of your care. I softly explained that you were simply inviting us into your lives to collaborate with you in order to give Mom the very best quality care and compassion towards the end of life.
At the end of our meeting, you expressed appreciation for my sensitivity and indicated that you trusted me/us implicitly to take care of your Mom with the same degree of love and devotion as you had accorded her. I will always be grateful for your confidence in Regency and I know that we rewarded that confidence to the very end.
You were so happy to hear that at Regency Nursing Centers there are no restrictions with visitation and that you were welcome at all hours of the day. I noticed how you took advantage and came here often to sit with Minnie at her bedside.
You were always mindful and considerate of our staff and you constantly expressed your appreciation for their efforts and compassion.
We discussed how none of us play God to determine the destiny for every person on this Earth. Our job is to simply provide the stellar care and compassion which Regency has become famous for and to let destiny chart its own course.
With Mom’s passing, I’d like to remind you that Minnie lives on in your hearts and ours and that the indelibly positive impact she etched into her family and loved ones will continue to inspire until the very end of time, for we truly do not exist in a vacuum.
Thank you so much for donating her clothing to our facility to use for charity, this is yet a further perpetuation of her enduring legacy.
I leave you with this famous quote and with our warmest wishes from all of us here at Regency Nursing Centers.
“They that love beyond the world
cannot be separated by it.
Death cannot kill what never dies.”
-William Penn-
