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At the Kitchen Table with TELLER
By Barbara J. Nosek

Well-known magician Teller recently moved his parents from a three-story row house in Philadelphia into an assisted living facility in Las Vegas. Irene and Joe Teller, 95 and 90, now happily reside at the Cottages of Green Valley. Their son’s smart, caring and creative approach to this life-changing experience serves as an excellent model for “kids” in similar situations.

Tell us a bit about your parents.
“My parents are artists - my mother, more realistic still-lifes, scenes and portraits, my father, more expressionistic stuff. Their home had a studio. He earned his living in the commercial arts. She sold art supplies and also managed restaurants.”

And now they’ve come here.
“They were living independently, but my father took a fall and was in rehab at an assisted living place. They saw what assisted living was like and said, we have to do that, we really can’t take care of each other any more. And I did a "magician’s choice," saying you can go to this bleak place in Philadelphia or come to Vegas where your son can visit every day. They chose Vegas.”

So assisted living was the answer for your parents.
“Yes, but not the whole answer. An
assisted living place helps you, but you are still taking care of your parents. I’m here every day that I’m in town. It’s enormously important to have a family member right there.”

What attracted you to the Cottages?
“The physical layout – just walk down the hall for breakfast, then go back to your room, or the living room, or the porch. It means my parents can use walkers, not wheelchairs, because they don’t have to go miles.”

What about the management?
“They’ve very cooperative, but I’m also cultivating that. The amount of enthusiasm and cooperation that you get is partly dependent on the staff, but it’s heavily dependent on the effort you put into learning the names of every cook, every caregiver, and everyone who lives in the Cottage.”

And are your parents enjoying the place?
“The thing that’s most striking is the amount of time they spend outdoors. They’ll sit outside, go for walks, and that’s a big change. Also in their latter years they’ve been very much loners. Here they are acquiring friends.”

Now your friends too.
“I really think that treating your parents’ new friends as friends of the family is important. Don’t go in and just visit your parents - they’re living in a community now.”

Any other advice you might offer?
“Don’t expect a place that’s perfect – you won’t find it. See what the compromise is, make the adjustments, and then assisted living is great. My parents look 1000 times better than they did two months ago. They’re laughing instead of being grim and their physical difficulties are being managed by professionals.”