Excerpt from: The New York Times (click for full article)
Sometimes Martin Bayne speaks in little more than a whisper, like many people with advanced Parkinson’s disease. But his voice has a way of carrying.
Many consider him the nation’s foremost advocate for people in assisted living. “Marty communicates the truth about living and aging and dying in America,” said Joy Loverde, a caregiving expert and author of “The Complete Eldercare Planner.”
Dr. William Thomas, a geriatrician and nursing home reformer, wrote in an e-mail, “He has been able to do what very few others have done — he has told the story of life on the inside of long-term care.”
Mr. Bayne ran one of the largest long-term-care insurance brokerages in the United States, and a well-known Web site, mrltc.com, before being struck by early-stage Parkinson’s 18 years ago. After becoming seriously disabled, he moved to an assisted living center in upstate New York in 2002 — a difficult transition. Three years ago, Mr. Bayne relocated to a facility in northeastern Pennsylvania, where he has a single room and receives several hours of help from aides every day.
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