After leaving the hospital from surgery, Abbeyfield House Society president Ann Younger knew she wouldn’t be able to care for herself at her rural acreage.
She was lucky enough that Abbeyfield House in Golden had a room available, and she stayed there.
“I was here for two weeks, and it was good,” Younger said. “All my meals were prepared, I didn’t have to do all that.”
With a comfortable room, an en suite bathroom, and home cooked meals every day, Younger could recuperate from her surgery with all of the supports Abbeyfield offers. Best of all, she could have visitors come to see her in her own private room. She also got to spend the days socializing with the residents of the house, enjoying tea and card games.
“I live so far out (of town) I would be isolated where I live. I had a lot of visitors when I was here for two weeks… That’s one of the things I appreciated,” Younger said, adding that she also enjoyed the company of the residents who live there. “We would play games together like Scrabble and cards. We could have coffee and watch some TV together. And, it was nice having my own personal chef.”
With available rooms at Abbeyfield, this gave Younger an idea.
After some deliberation and planning, Abbeyfield has now opened up their convalescent room to adults ages 45 and up who need some space while recovering from medical procedures.
“In order to try to figure out how to resolve the financial issues, we came up with this idea,” Younger said. “They try to get people out of the hospital as quickly as possible.”
The room is a great size, and comes with its own private full bathroom. An extra long bed accommodates people of all sizes, and a cozy reclining armchair adds relaxation to the space. The room comes with a closet, dresser, bedside table and lamp, a desk, and a TV.
The Columbia Valley Credit Union donated the funds for the furniture and Veronica Berrault helped make the room homey with the interior design.
Anyone interested in using the convalescent room can call Abbeyfield at 250-344-7997.
