In this inspiring episode of Answers for Elders, host Suzanne Newman sits down with retired Boeing engineer Don Haff. He share stories and his advice if you're thinking about senior living for yourself or a loved one. At 94, Don is energetic and vibrant, and joins the show after the day's Wii bowling tournament where he lives at Chateau Bothell Landing in Bothell, Washington.
Don says, "I met my wife in college. We were a freshman together. And we got married between my sophomore and junior year, and we were married for 63 years... [She] had Parkinson's, but we didn't know it. After she was gone, I did more research into it, and found out that one of the symptoms of Parkinson's is that you have paranoia. And she went through a period where she was really paranoid. Most people who have Parkinson's, there's shaking. She never did that. But her problem was, they got to where she couldn't control her muscles and she couldn't swallow. And she starved to death. It was pretty painless for her. It is hard on me.
"But we were here then [at Bothell Landing], and I really thank my lucky stars that we were. And it was one of the best moves we made. We moved down there in January 2018, and so she was here a year and a half before she was gone. I really can't say enough good about the attention that we got for her. I guess I feel like we have about 250 roommates in here. Everybody was really kind, but we knew it was coming, it wasn't a surprise. So actually when it came, it was kind of a relief in a way. And of course I still miss her.
"Everybody's so friendly. Even before we moved in, the marketing people, were just wonderful with questions and all this kind of stuff. One of the things that we were both impressed about, and we commented about this together, was when you went to the dining rooms, we were a name, not a number. We walk in and, oh hi Don and Kathy. And they didn't have to know our room number. Well, they knew our room number, but they talked with my name. Well, I always have a glass of milk. I always get a can of V8 to go for my breakfast. Before I even sit down, they come up with the milk. They pay attention and they have better memories than me! I'm so delighted [with the food]. Oh my gosh, they make good soup.
"I'm on the dining committee, and. And I'm on the activity committee, and, well, I like to know what's going on. I go to almost every movie and we have a lot of documentaries and regular movies now. We have to do opera once a month. And so it's like, wow, there's plenty to do."
Chateau Retirement provides independent living, assisted living, and memory care services. They have been locally owned and family operated for more than 25 years. Chateau Retirement has three communities in Washington's Seattle/Puget Sound area: Chateau Pacific in Lynnwood, Bothell Landing in Bothell, and Chateau Valley Center in Renton. Visit them online or call 800.960.1944. Visit Chateau's specialist page on Answers for Elders.
Mentioned in this episode:
Chateau Retirement
Chateau Retirement
Walk to End Alzheimer's
Learn more about the Walk to End Alzheimer's at https://www.alz.org/walk.