"My brother moved to Bickford of Gurnee. He's in their assisted living section, and he's a level one. He loves his community, and I love the community, so we're very happy. The price was also right. I was invited to have all three meals with him if I wished. They also have activities all through the day and outings. It's clean and always smells nice. The staff, no matter what their job is, whether they're from the janitor department or the kitchen or the nurse or the administrator, every single person is always very kind and smiles. He said that everybody's so nice there. Those were our deciding factors. We love his apartment. He took the studio because that's really all he needs, and we filled it up and made it nice. I had gone to Walmart and bought him a television and a wall mount so he could have a TV in his room. When I went to deliver it, they had an extra television, so they gave him their television. They're just so nice there, so our hearts are warm and very happy.
They have a beauty salon there and a hairdresser comes in every other week, which is really wonderful. He has his laundry day when they come in and strip his bed and take his dirty clothes, and do the laundry. The bathroom is big, and it's really nice, too. It's nice because it's a big square, so when we go there, we do laps. Around every corner, there's a nook and a cranny where there's a television and a couch, so I can just sit with him, or we can sit with a lot of people. The facility was built for Mrs. Bickford, and I think she was a musician, so they have one section with music and puzzles where you can just sit down and listen to music. It's just really nice. They even let me bring my pets in. They have two parakeets that live there, and I have dogs and birds, so when I bring my animals, they're very welcome. I can go visit 24 hours a day, and we really like that too. For instance, he's having a bad night, they said I got my fob so I could just come over and be with him. I thought that was great.
The food is really good, and I like what they do. They have a nice, normal breakfast where you can order what you want, whether you want scrambled eggs or French toast. Then they have a big lunch, which is delicious. I like Wednesdays because they do Swedish meatballs, and they're so good. The dinner is light, which I think is really good, too, because no one wants to walk around or get into bed overeating. Dinner starts with a salad, and then there's always soup. Then there's chicken and a vegetable. They don't miss anything, so it's really good. Every dinner comes with dessert. Last time we had German chocolate cake, and sometimes it's an ice cream sundae. They also keep food out. They have a little section of that, if you wake up in the middle of the night and you're hungry. They have either cupcakes or brownies, and they also have fruit at their little bistro. If you get up in the middle of the night and you want to come out of your room and get a snack, they have one. My brother also has a refrigerator in his apartment so he can keep snacks in there.
They have a nice big porch and patio in the back, and the activities are good. This month they're having two outings. When we first went there, my brother didn't want to do any of this stuff, but this place has really helped him to get back to his old self, and we're very happy. They keep the memory care people on a separate side of the building, except when they've had a tornado warning, when memory care and assisted living come together in a private safe hallway. My brother knew exactly where to go, and everybody was there, and they're all so nice to each other. It's an upbeat and happy place. I don't know what goes on in memory care, but in assisted living, nobody is whining and crying. They worked with us on the price. We had to pay the community fee, and they gave us half of that back, so I think that they're very fair. Of course, they have add-ons if your person can't take their medication or can't do things, but my brother showers in the morning and fixes himself up. The community has a very good impact on him, and I couldn't be happier."
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