At Castle Peak Nursing Home, I sat quietly in the living room and waited for Mia to arrive. I told Ian about my plans ahead of time, and he agreed to help me communicate with the director of the nursing home and give me an afternoon visit.

“Why meet here?” A receptionist leads Mia into the living room, where she removes her oversized sunglasses and places them on the table.

“I'd like a glass of ice water, please,” she said to the receptionist.

The receptionist nods to get ice water for her, and Mia takes a sip from the glass.

“What do you want me to do here?” Mia looked...