UPDATE:
In my father's own words, "I am one happy old man." We believe him. The staff at Presbyterian Manor are so kind to him and support his desire to live as long as possible.
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Sadly, our family's satisfaction has dropped dramatically as our father's condition -- especially his hearing -- has declined. Last year, my mother-in-law moved into Sunrise La Costa in Carlsbad, CA. She pays almost exactly the same amount per month as our father does at Presbyterian Manor. The care at Sunrise is much better.
Consider R, a male resident at Sunrise with hearing loss. R had been accustomed to sleeping all day, isolating and never wearing his hearing aids. Sunrise staff gently encouraged him to give his hearing aids a try and helped him clean, insert and store them. R is now more social, interacts with others and seems less miserable.
By contrast, Presbyterian Manor treats dad's hearing aids as a patient's rights issue: "If he wants to go without his hearing aids, we can't force him." So dad sleeps all day, isolating and never wearing his hearing aids. It is sad to see a man of our father's intellect and education, declining cognitively and alone. Presbyterian staff is great, but we do not see eye to eye on hearing aids.
Google cognitive decline and hearing loss for more information.
In the words of my brother, our father's executor, "It's hard to travel so far to see him just to hear him say 'Huh?'..." read more
