Sharing wisdom that comes from parenting our parents
When I first started taking care of Dad, there was not a lot of resources for caregivers. Dementia had been around as a diagnosis for a long time but little attention had been paid to people who cared for these patients at home. Thankfully that has changed a lot these days.
When working with Dad during his declining years, I remember those oh-so-valuable conversation where we said the things we wanted to say. Conversations that eventually would become no longer possible. Talks of financial and burial arrangements that were thinly disguised versions of “I love you”. Bittersweet today but were just “significant” talks back then. Those …
Funny the connections we develop as caregivers. The funny weird part is we may not discover these changes until long after events have passed. At least I didn’t.
“Doesn’t diabetes affect the kidneys, Doctor?”, I asked when taking Dad to one of his numerous medical appointments. The Internist stopped and finally looked up from the chart he had been writing in for the last 10 minutes. “Well, yes” he slowly replied, recognition of an idea starting to appear in his eyes. “Yes, it can!” With a renewed enthusiasm, the doctor began reviewing the papers in the folder and he began to hurriedly scribble notes. A decision had been made.
Dad's Back 