06/10/2019
This was a letter from a family member of Brio...posted with their permission:
Dear Mike and all at Brio,
I had been meaning to get this note of appreciation off to you much sooner,
and I sincerely apologize for the delay.
I want to thank you for the lovely facility and environment you provided at Brio
for our family to consider when we had to make that difficult choice to
keep our precious father, Jim Morewood, safe and well. We were able to keep our dad at home
with family intervention, but then that day came that we all feared, and we no longer had the
resources or the professional training to care for his new challenges. And it was
heartbreaking.
On the day I first toured Brio, I was feeling overwhelmed at the important decisions I knew
I was going to have to make as a daughter. Then I met sweet Bonnie and Rebecca and I realized
I was in the company of people who knew what they were doing. They quelled many of
my fears with reassurance and they were very accommodating. I appreciated their sensitivity and kindness toward me at a time when I was falling apart. I sensed first off that I was in a place that was unlike any
other I had visited. I also knew immediately, this was the place for my daddy.
Although he only called Brio home for 2 months, it provided him with more wonderful
resources than we, as a family, could offer. He enjoyed drinking coffee and socializing with other folks
at Brio and made some wonderful friendships with gentleman who had many of the same interests in common.
He enjoyed the kitchen/common room area and I can still hear him rooting for his team, along with everyone else, during the Super Bowl. My father was a real people person, and being exposed to others
did him so much good. He was a shut-in and housebound in his own home. But Brio kind of gave him wings - he had so much more available to him, and skilled helping hands who understood his needs and could get him up and out to enjoy the activities. They always encouraged him to participate in whatever was going on and I know he had a good time. He would tell me so.
The team at Brio kept my father clean, groomed and in fresh clothes. His medications were watched over and given at the times directed. He had beautifully prepared, nutritious meals which he greatly looked forward to. And fresh fruit, assorted snacks and cold drinks were available any time of the day. Our family was always offered a meal or refreshments when we were there, which made us feel included and part of the Brio family. He liked me to bring him a cold Coca-Cola and those wrapped peanut butter and cracker snacks in the afternoon. Just like he would have at home.
On the night my father passed away and went to heaven, I was privileged to be sitting beside him, holding his hand as he breathed his last. The hospice nurse and the Brio staff on hand that evening were so tender and loving towards him, bathing his brow and checking his vitals and making sure he was comfortable. And their loving kindness was extended to me as well with comforting hands on my shoulders, hugs, words of faith and assurance, cold water and Kleenex. They were caring for my father,
but they also were attentive to me as well. I found great comfort in this.
So thank you. Thank you for giving my father a nice, safe, and caring place to enjoy his last days. And when that final day came, as we knew it inevitably would, being there with you made all the difference. Not only to him, but to his children. It is no small thing that you do.
With love and gratitude,
Jamie Morewood Anderson and Jeff Morewood.
The proud children of Jim Morewood.
