Attending doctor’s appointments with your aging parent
Pat at Sometimes I Feel Like a Piece of Bologna, writes about the importance of attending medical appointments with you aging parent:
And of course, my parents’ generation tend to hold physicians in awe, so if the doctor says they’re OK, they must be.
But if I’m there and ask the same question, it gets attention. And if I ask for a test, x-ray or treatment, they’ll often agree.
I didn’t really think to go with my mother when she was still driving, but, I went a lot after she stopped since I was the one taking her.
I can say that the doctors sometimes listened to me about testing and medicines, but, I’m pretty sure it was because they wanted me to go away and leave them alone ;)
Tags: Aging, Caregiver, Sandwich_Generation
1 opinion for Attending doctor’s appointments with your aging parent
Pete Sampson
Dec 1, 2006 at 12:17 pm
I took my mother to many, many appointments in the last few years of her life. She suffered from dementia and couldn’t remember anything anyone said to her. But she had a firm grasp on the past.
My favorite moment and one of my favorite memories of her was when an endocrinologist asked her if any doctor had ever talked to her about her thyroid (this would have been in 1997 or 1998). She thought for a moment and said, “Yes.” The doctor began taking notes. “When was that?” he asked. She thought for a minute and said, “1929.”
The doctor put down his pencil.
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