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Kari in Decatur, GA, Lauren in Lynchburg, VA, and I decided that Candle Light Cove was a better fit. Fortunately, one room became available, and I jumped at it.
Deciding I wanted the room to be a cheerful color and a color
that David had always liked—yellow—I bought the paint and they painted the room and his private bath the same color. Lauren
came to Bayleigh Chase from Lynchburg and spent about four days helping me. She was like a whirling dervish as we got the furniture together and purchased accessories, including linens and bathroom necessities. We were ready to move him in on Monday, February 10, 2020. One of his wonderful caregivers, Linda Evans, provided care all day on the day of the move. On the previous Saturday, Candle Light allowed us to move some heavy furniture for which we needed a truck. My good friend, Tom Barwick, from my church, St. Mark’s United Methodist Church, had told me he would do anything he could to help. Showing up at 9 am, he erected shelving to go over the toilet and assembled the shower chair. By about 11 am he and Lauren moved everything to his truck and delivered it Saturday morning. Thank God for good friends, a competent man, and a strong-armed daughter.
I had not told David he was going to be moving to Candle Light Cove (CLC) until after breakfast on Sunday morning, the day before. Hints had been dropped, and he saw Tom putting things together on Saturday, so he knew something was going on. In telling David of the plan, I wanted to keep it simple. I prayed that God would give me the words and timing, and He did. I told David we loved him very much, but he needed more professional care than I could give, and we wanted the best for him. I asked him, “Do you have any questions?” and he said, “No.”
“We will not forget you when you move and I will visit you every day,” I promised. After all the preliminaries on the 10th, Lauren and I checked David in about 2 pm and left him after getting him situated in his room. Then, walking with him around the Great Room, I introduced him to several of the residents in his memory care unit called “Life Stories I,” which has sixteen rooms. Even though a bit dazed, he settled in pretty well. Concerned about him
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