The couple’s son, a clinical psychologist residing in the northeast, found VIP Memory Care online. When he came down to see his parents, he also visited VIP with his mother. “I’m watching both my parents die,” he said. “My mother has no life whatsoever tending to my father.”

With her son’s words ringing in her head, Connie made a decision. And while she’s happy she brought Leslie to VIP, “The decision was easier and yet more difficult than I imagined it would be,” she admits. “I felt like I was abdicating my duties as a wife. I mean, you just don’t throw family away.”