Even though her story starts with a 12-day hospital stay after a severe fall, Peg M.’s humor shines when she shares how she came to the Gardens at St. Elizabeth.

 “I’ve had exceedingly bad balance for years,” Peg begins. “In fact, I joked with my family that I purposely fell in front of them so they didn’t have to worry about me.”

But they did, of course. So much so that her daughter insisted the two explore possible senior living residences all around metro Denver. Peg recaps, “She said, ‘Mom, if we do this now, we won’t have to fight about it when you really need a different place.’”

It took 10 excursions to various settings and encore visits to the Gardens, but Peg gained a clear picture of the differences in residences. “I learned there weren’t a lot of  higher-quality, assisted living residences available.” She also saw that each had its own personality, “…and this was definitely one of the friendlier.”

Having that advance knowledge and confidence proved extremely important after the former high-school counselor collided with a row of shopping carts at her local grocery. She received a concussion, broken nose, fractured thumb…and ample time to “consider what was next. I realized the time had come.” 

She opted for the Gardens.

Just how good her timing was became apparent the second day she was in residence. “I lost my balance and fell. After 15 minutes of trying to get up, I pulled the cord and help was there immediately. And I said to myself, ‘That’s exactly why you’re here.”

Gardens associate Melissa Mattes praises Peg and her daughter’s foresight and persistence. “When I talk with families about living choices, I encourage them to be proactive and not reactive…to not wait for a crisis. It’s not unusual to learn from a hospital discharge planner that you have just 24 hours to make a major residential decision, plus all the physical arrangements it requires. Physicians’ reports and evaluations for quality residences take time.”

“That level of stress hurts everyone.”

A single conversation can start your family on the planning path for a positive senior living experience. Call Melissa at 303-964-3803 for your personal tour of the Gardens at St. Elizabeth and learn more about senior living, assisted living and memory care options in Denver.