Couple find new home at Monarch Landing
"The beauty of it is that we didn't wait until we had an emergency situation," said Julie Roback of Bartlett. Julie's mother-in-law and father-in-law Jeanette and Carl Roback, formerly of Bloomingdale, moved to Monarch Landing just under a year ago. Jeanette, who has advanced Alzheimer's disease, lives in The Springs, the healthcare community at Monarch Landing. Carl has apartment in the adjacent independent living community at Monarch Landing, and is easily able to visit Jeanette throughout the course of the day.
For the past several years, Carl had been Jeanette's full time caregiver in their home. "Carl got to the point where he couldn't be the primary caregiver any longer. It was taking a toll on him," said Julie.
The family had been determined to not "put" Jeanette into a setting that seemed like a traditional nursing home. They found The Springs to be very different than what they'd feared would be their only option. "We love the open space, the large common areas, and the private rooms and bathrooms. It feels much more like a lovely apartment," said Julie. "And we really liked the fact that Monarch Landing and The Springs are connected to each other. That was important."
Carl's move has given him a new lease on life. "Monarch Landing is a very lively, active group of people. Carl is a very social person and being home with Jeanette was so hard. He was confined to the house with someone who was unable to converse with him. That was so hard socially," said Julie. "It was also so difficult physically. He was really getting rundown taking care of Jeanette as well as managing all of the responsibilities of running a home."
Since moving to Monarch Landing, Carl has made lots of friends and become involved in many of the community's activities and clubs.
"Carl has more energy. The saving grace is that he is now able to enjoy life while knowing that Jeanette is being well cared for. It is the best scenario we could have envisioned in this situation; Carl is able to have social interaction on a daily basis and he is also able to be with his wife every day," said Julie.
"The move really relieves the worry for all of us. We know where Carl is, we know where Jeanette is, and we know that someone's looking out for both of them," said Julie.
Monarch Landing is a Life Plan Community located on a scenic campus in Naperville, Illinois-named "one of America's best places to live and retire" by Modern Maturity, and "the best city for early retirement" by Kiplinger. Monarch Landing offers independent living, promoting a vibrant life style for active seniors. The Springs at Monarch Landing offers assisted living memory support, rehabilitation and skilled nursing services, thus providing complete continuing care for seniors. Monarch Landing is owned by Senior Care Development and managed by Life Care Services. For additional information visit www.WelcomeToMonarchLanding.com or www.TheSpringsatMonarchLanding.com.