Bonded Pairs Program

Gloria and I moved into an Independent and Assisted Living community in Ballard and lived there for approximately 5 years.  Prior to moving there Gloria was diagnosed with dementia.   I knew that we would eventually need additional assistance, and it became clear that we would need to find a place that provided different levels of assistance – more than what our community could provide.   In addition, we wanted to move closer to our older daughter.  

Our daughter Julie who lives in Mountlake Terrace watched Vineyard Park being built.  Gloria and I along with our daughter met with Kelley and looked at what Vineyard Park had to offer.  We were intrigued by the “Bonded Pair” concept.  Based on our situation with Gloria having dementia, the 4^th floor was an attractive option, as the Memory Care unit was on that floor, knowing that if/when Gloria did need to go into memory care, I would be close by and our daughter a few minutes away.

We moved into Vineyard Park with the help of our daughter Julie and a friend of hers.  I emphasize this as we moved in one of the worst windstorms of August on record. Elevators were running under emergency power so quite a bit of our belongs had to be stuffed into a storage room that I had rented in the basement.  Our introduction to Vineyard Park was far from smooth but we did have a warm dinner that had been cooked before the power went out and the following day was a breakfast of cold cereal and a cold sandwich for lunch.  The staff however made us feel welcome and through it all we knew this was a good move.

Later Gloria’s conditioned declined, I upped the level of assistance for her while we were still living in the 1-bedroom apartment.  I also was experiencing some health issues and had to go to the hospital on a couple of occasions to get my sodium levels under control.   Having the additional assistance for Gloria was important to me as well as knowing that if I were in the hospital for any period, Gloria could go to Memory Care until I returned.  In January of I was admitted into the hospital for a bout of pneumonia and the flu.  It was then in talking with my daughters that it was decided that Gloria needed more care than just assistance and that she needed Memory Care.  For the last year of Gloria’s life, she was in memory care.   I moved from our 1-bedroom apartment on the 4^th floor to a studio apartment on the 4^th floor and was able to see her every day.   We took walks on different floors and my daughter would pick us up to take us on road trips.   Vineyard Park was the best move that we made as it provided us with all the levels of care that we needed so my wife and I could be together from independent to assistance and finally Memory Care. We were blessed to able to celebrate our 60^th wedding anniversary with family in November, 2 months before Gloria passed away.

Being able to stay together was especially important to Gloria and I, and to our daughters.  Vineyard Park in Mountlake Terrace provided us the ability to stay together.