Organizing Mom and Dad

A few weeks ago, I received one of those dreaded phone calls from my dad. He was at the hospital with mom - she'd had a stroke.

Over the course of just a few days, I met with her doctors, therapists and other specialists. She was blessed to be doctoring with Mayo Clinic at one of their hospitals. There's a reason why kings, queens and other dignataries insist on getting their medical care from Mayo. The care mom received was remarkable.

I was amazed at the number of questions that arose regarding mom's care that I didn't have the answer to. Did she have a medical power of attorney? What were her wishes in being resuscitated in the event her heart stopped? What medications was she allergic to? Did she have false teeth? (I thought I knew this one but dad proved me wrong!)

As I was going through the motions at Mayo, observing my father taking such loving and tender care of his wife of 54 years, I realized I knew very little of mom's wishes. It's just not something you bring up in conversation very often.

Do yourself a favor. Go to the bookstore and purchase a guide to help you navigate through these difficult subjects with your parents. I found one called The Complete Eldercare Planner: Where to Start, Questions to Ask and How to Find Help by Joy Loverde. It covers the tough stuff that will be more difficult facing an emergency versus when everyone is healthy and doing well.

I hope you don't think I'm being morbid. Even though I have my own personal records neatly organized, I was unprepared for mom's stroke this past month. And it caused me to ponder my own wishes and whether or not I've communicated these to my own family. Death is a sure thing for all of us. It's just not anything we embrace preparing for.

Taking care,

Audrey