Sue Petrovski and her husband on their wedding day.
(Courtesy Sue Petrovski)
Moving into senior independent living is a little like being back in a college dorm, with all the pluses and minuses of communal living. Then there’s the fact that much of life is dictated by the corporate bottom line of the “big eldercare” industry.Coloradan Sue Petrovski is 85. She reflects on for-profit elder care in her new book “Shelved: A Memoir of Aging in America.”
Petrovski and her husband lived in the same home in a Denver suburb for 47 years. Her decision to move to a senior independent-living apartment began when it became clear that her husband had dementia.
Petrovski told Colorado Matters she made a list of things to consider as she decided where they should move, ranging from costs and medical help to lifestyle. “Where is this paradise I wanted,” she writes. “Meals, housekeeping, places to exercise and walk, socialization, activities, and help when needed? I had decided that these things were almost a necessity if we were going to go through the work and anxiety of a move at our age.
Listen to Petrovski’s conversation with Ryan Warner on Colorado Matters by clicking here.
Shanna Lewis - Radio Journalist, Photographer 