Over the holidays I had the opportunity to visit with some high school friends that I hadn’t talked to in years. The topic of conversation wasn’t focused on our kids, jobs, or travels but rather our aging parents. The theme was the same: memory loss, concern about driving, unwillingness to move to a senior community or downsize, worries about falling and poor follow through with medical care and recommendations from their doctors. After spending the holidays with their parents they were all acutely aware of the declines since last year and were all unsure where to turn or how to best help. Long distance caregiving is not for the faint of heart.
The New Year frequently brings to the forefront concerns about our parents’ safety and health and the need to take action, get help or make changes before “something bad happens”.
These concerns aren’t unique to the holidays but when you are in the midst of long distance caregiving it is easy to have a false sense of security. It is not uncommon for aging parents to downplay their problems or concerns. They don’t want to worry their children. They want to believe they are capable and independent. They often don’t understand or remember what their doctor tells them.
A large part of our advocacy business involves taking patients to appointments and facilitating the communication with the doctor. We have a conference call with the adult children, make a prioritized list of questions and concerns and make sure the doctor addresses them. We then report back to the children and discuss how best to support their parents based on the doctor’s recommendations. For those who are long distance caregivers, we use Skype or FaceTime to talk about the issues facing the seniors and their families
Do they need a memory disorders evaluation? a home safety check? a medication dispensing system? tests or screenings? Regardless of what the issues are, having everyone on the same page can reduce the chance of accidents or problems down the road.
Patient Advocates help navigate the system, find resources, facilitate communication and alleviate some of the stress of long distance caregiving. If you have an aging parent that you are concerned about call us today, 303-756-8436.. We offer a free, in person consultation to learn about your needs and discuss how we might help.
