Help, I Fell and Can’t Get Up!

You are ready for a vacation of your dreams with your family. All of a sudden when you are about to leave, you receive that dreaded call. “Your mother fell at the grocery store. She might have broken her hip!” said the nurse from your mom’s local hospital.

A hundred different messages and uncertainties begin to stir inside of you. “Would she be able to go home? Is she going to be ok by herself? Or maybe you should rush to the hospital miles away and check out how she is rather than worrying while on vacation. Should you forget about your vacation and disappoint your husband and children?”

What should you do?

Situations like these happen to families with aging parents. Pam was looking forward to her family’s annual winter vacation when her mother-in-law was suddenly ill and taken to the hospital. She has purchased her travel insurance that covers cancellation but her father-in-law INSISTED that the family go ahead with the vacation.

Sadly her mother-in-law passed away while they were away. In this case her father-in-law was by her side. But what if there were no immediate family by her side? Or her situation required immediate help from Pam?

A fall or illness of aging parents or grandparents is stressful and sometimes life threatening. Some people never forgive themselves for not being there with loved ones when they needed them most or passed away while they were away.

Flashback, in your case, your mom called after the nurse had called and told you to go ahead with your vacation plans. She was well taken care of. Besides, your sister was coming from California to take care of her while you were away.

What if a fall happens again?

Mom is 87 and hardly needs help and still prefers to live in her own home. Despite you and your siblings’ suggestion about assisted living facility, mom refuses.

Mom loves her freedom.

Caring for aging parents is not an easy task. The situation becomes worse when an aging parent faces declining health and care is needed… and they still live at their home of 60 years.

Many boomers are facing this situation. With children off to college or building their own life and career, boomers are looking forward to their retiring years. But the current financial situation in our nation is leaving many boomers working longer and longer. Instead of enjoying their retirement years, they are working and juggling between work and caring for their aging parents. There is hardly any time left for a vacation.

If aging parents have a home and need a different living arrangement, boomers may have to step up and help with:

•    Selling their home
•    Sorting out their belongings – it could be 60 to 70 years worth of things
•    Finding a suitable assisted living facility
•    Looking through paperwork and finances
•    Helping with their emotional pain of leaving their home of over 50 or 60 years
•    Coping with their loneliness and transition
•    And more

All these can be overwhelming to both the parent and the boomer daughter. Instead of a carefree lifestyle they are often facing a stressful life of compassionate problem solving with aging parents. This is where Keeping in Touch Solutions can be your helpful support and resource guide. You don’t have to walk this path alone.

A daily check-in call could be the lifeline, the joy you give someone that makes the biggest difference in their perception of what old age is like.

Contact me at 317-480-1038 today. Let’s make a difference together.

I’m Diana Beam, Founder of Keeping in Touch Solutions. It is my heartfelt desire for every person to live a happy and healthy life in the place they call home, no matter what their age. You can’t put a price on peace of mind for your parents and yourself. It’s priceless . . . and significant.

For that reason, the goal of every Keeping In Touch Solutions program is to provide a caring connection and service that both the elderly and their caregivers can rely on to make living that good life easier.