My sister’s health declined during the COVID lockdown. Yet, the Aroostook House of Comfort and their wonderful staff made an incredibly trying time as peaceful as it could have possibly been. I appreciated the staff’s elevated level of kindness to my 93-year-old mom when I brought her in to see her firstborn on the last day of her life. They not only showed dedication and wonderful level of care to my sister as her health declined and she slipped away from us but also with each and everyone in the family. The House of Comfort was where my sister had hoped to be when cancer robbed her of the ability to do for herself. I am very grateful that it was where we were able to say our final goodbye to her.
Two years later, when old age really started to take hold of my mom’s body, she hoped that she would be able to be at the House of Comfort when it all came to be too much for her to endure. A week after a fall, she wound up in the hospital on a Saturday night and placed on end-of-life care. The Aroostook House of Comfort was amazing at getting Mom transferred into the house on Monday morning. As soon as they had her settled into her room, they walked my brother and I down the hall to be with her. We immediately realized that she was in the same room that my sister had been in two years prior. When I was able to communicate to Mom that not only was she at the House of Comfort (where she had hoped she would be), she was also in the room that her eldest daughter had been. At that moment, peace enveloped her and stayed with her to the end.
The building, with its comfortable rooms, lovely common spaces, and beautiful grounds, brings a level of elegance and peace into very dark and sad times. The staff is not only very skilled at the level of care the patient needs but very compassionate and comforting with family. My personal experience with the staff and house is one of deep gratitude. Two people that I love immensely and dearly were able to quietly and peacefully slip away right where they wanted to.
