Louise Kent, who lives with her husband Doug at The Residency in Scottsbluff, has had to deal with an autoimmune disease and a condition that caused too much fluid to build up in her brain, a ruptured appendix, and a broken spine after falling – all in the last 3 1/2 years. However, she’s never let those setbacks get her down and instead has focused on being grateful for her faith, family, friends, and apartment and Life Care at The Residency.
JEFF FIELDER Editor
SCOTTSBLUFF – Doug and Louise Kent had lived in their beautiful, spacious, and comfortable house on Third Avenue in Scottsbluff for 48 wonderful years.
But although they were still happy and healthy – and loved their home – it had become almost too big for the Kents, whose three daughters had moved out of the house years ago. They desired to live in a smaller place, where they could enjoy more quality time together rather than spending so much time taking care of the inside and outside of their house.
After looking around for a while, they found a place in July 2016 that seemed absolutely perfect for them – a two bedroom, two bathroom independent living apartment at The Residency in Scottsbluff. It was only about six blocks east of the house they had been living in since 1968, and their apartment with a balcony on the second floor at The Residency was about 1/4 the size of their house – which they loved.
Adding to their excitement was that they could make their 975-square foot apartment at The Residency their own. They did just that, installing hardwood floors and renovating the kitchen, among other things. When they moved into The Residency, Doug was 76, and Louise was 74.
“It can be hard to walk away from the home you’ve lived in for so long, especially since we loved that home, but we were excited because we knew moving into The Residency would be so much more convenient for us,” Louise said. “We also knew we would enjoy all the amenities that The Residency has to offer, and one of the biggest reasons we chose this place is the Life Care that they offer.”
There was another reason, too, the Kents had decided to move. They wanted to move into The Residency before either of them developed any kind of serious health problems related to aging, and they wanted to be able to move while they were physically able to.
“We always knew we wanted to make a move before we had to make a move,” Louise said. “It was totally our decision to make the move when we did. We didn’t want to wait and get to the point where someone had to tell us we had to move. This was our gift to our daughters so they wouldn’t have to worry about us getting older and having to have ‘the big talk.’ We didn’t want them to someday have to say, ‘OK, mom and dad are sick and they’re weak, so what will we do with them?’” Everything worked out perfectly.”
After the Kents moved into their apartment, they did start spending more quality time together because Doug said they didn’t have to worry about doing tasks like mowing the grass, cleaning a large house, or fixing the various things that can break or quit working in a home.
“We don’t have any stress – zero,” Doug said. “We felt really blessed to find a place like this.”
The Kents were planning to enjoy a healthy and happy life for a long time. Neither one of them, after all, had felt or showed any signs of having any health problems.
Unfortunately, though, it wasn’t long before Louise starting going through a series of health-related setbacks, beginning just six months after they had moved into The Residency.
The full story is in the December issue of Nspire Today! magazine. A one-year subscription (12 issues) is only $15. You may sign up for a subscription by sending $15 to Nspire Today!, P.O. Box 454, Scottsbluff, NE 69363, or you may pay with a credit card by calling 308-220-8865. If you would like to increase your subscription to $20, Nspire Today! will donate the extra $5 in January to the Buckboard Therapeutic Riding Academy.
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