homecareagenciesstartedtellingherthatsheneededto
move her residents into nursing homes, she remained
defiant.Shelaunchedherownagencyandhiredpeopleto
dothejobthewayitshouldbedone,givingpeoplehelp
with everything from meals to medical appointments.
Then one resident was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s
disease.“Itookcareofhimforacoupleyears,”Carson
said,“butasheprogressed,weweren’treadyforthat.”
Heneededaround-the-clockchecksandassistancewith
toileting.Shebegantothinkshe’dreachedthelimitsof
whatshecouldprovideandwouldhavetoputhimina
nursinghome.Buthissonswereinvolvedwithacharity,
theCureAlzheimer’sFund,whichraisedthemoneyto
hire Sanborn Place’s first overnight staff member.
Adecadeor solater, just thirteenof herseventy-some
residents were still independent. Twenty-five required
assistancewith meals,shopping,andsoon.Thirty-five
more required help with personal care, sometimes
twenty-four hours a day. But Sanborn Place avoided
becoming acertified nursinghomeorevenan assisted
living facility. Officially, it’s still just a low-income
apartmentcomplex—thoughonewithamanagerwhois
determinedtoenablepeopletoliveintheirownhomes,
in their own way, right to the end, no matter what
happens.
Imetaresident,RuthBarrett,whogavemeasenseof
justhowdisabledapersoncouldbewhilemanagingto
stillliveinherownplace.Shewaseighty-fiveandhad
been there eleven years, Carson said. She required
oxygen,becauseofcongestiveheartfailureandchronic
lung disease, and she hadn’t walked in four years,