Doing the right thing

It has been 8 weeks now and we are adjusting as a family. In early November our family decided it would be best for my husbands parents to move in with us. At that time we need to do a quick but costly renovation. We gave up the formal living room to become a beautiful bedroom and made the half bath into a full handicap bathroom. At this point a walker is used but there is room in the future for a wheelchair if necessary. You could never believe the cost of ADA materials. The built in shower seat, the rails that are on each side of the toilet. My 4 year old will be great on the parallel bars. It is CRAZY. As I said before it all began on Dec. 9th. We survived the holidays. Our kids are doing great.





My 4 year old daughter keeps my mother in law busy when she isn't off coloring, painting or pretending she is a mommy with her dolls.





My seven year old sometimes thinks it is BORING because we don't go out to dinner any more. Oh well we are losing weight because of it.




The six year old is sooo cute he actually takes the time to respect his elders and introduces his friends.




We are learning a lot already. You need to stay on top of the hospitals and the Dr.'s. Figure out the mailaway pharmacy because you will be there weekly. It's amazing how many times a month we go to get prescriptions. So much to learn in a little time.






We have made strides with accupuncture for a severe case of spinal stonosis. We are in the process of determining the confusion. We try to make each and everyday a pleasant one.







I know in my heart that this was the right thing to do. Give our all of our love to our family memebers.

3 Hours?

Have you ever asked your parents how long their Dr.'s appointments are? One day I was talking to my mother in law and asked her how her appointment was and she stated that the Dr. was behind 3 hours, so she waited. She said it was a constant problem.

She probably didn't tell me that she was 20 mins late. I would scratch my head and ask why?Didn't you tell them that you were waiting? Did they forget about you? Question after question, we asked them to change because the Dr.'s office was too far away for the long waits. Well now that I have had an experience I can put the puzzle piece together.

Situation -
I called to make a follow up appointment from an emergency room visit. At 10:45 I called the office to schedule and they said you can come today at 11:15 or tomorrow at 9:00am. I said well I know that we can not make it in 30 minutes, we will come tomorrow at 9:00am. My husband got to the office and told him he was late by 18 mins and the Dr. now would have to fit them in at her convenience any where from 30 minutes to 2 hours. My husband called asking why I gave him the wrong time. Well I knew that it was not the wrong time because I have a book that I had written the 2 times down. The office had imputted it incorrectly. I called and spoke to an extremely rude nurse that didnt care if the 81 year old waited 24 hours. I asked to speak to the office manager and she said it was the Dr.'s decision. I told her to put the Dr. on the phone and next thing I knew he was being called in.

Is it right to let an 81 year old sit in the waiting room for 2 hours?

It is one thing if they are late but they are 80 and maybe they should build in a cushion for lateness. At 30 something I push it to be on time.

So at the end of the day if you hear that your parents or grandparents are waiting at the Dr.'s for a crazy amount of time. Take Charge!!!!!! Remember when you were little and sick who was your biggest advocate?

The beginning

This is my first blog. I am starting this blog because I don't think that our Senior population has a loud enough voice. I am going to use my personal experiences and what I learn from others to help increase the voice of our seniors. I will give you the quick details how this all became.

It all began in September 2007 when my husband and I went home to have a family meeting regarding his parents. The FALLS had began and the CONFUSION started. SCARY is all we could think. The result of the meeting was that they would be moving to Georgia. We came home to renovate the house to get things moving for them to make the move from Michigan to Georgia.

December 9, 2007 was the day that the work really started.

We had 5 Dr. appointments, 4 hair appointments, and 1 trip in the ambulance on christmas eve, all in the first month. I think to myself how do they do it on their own? We have appointments with specialist because we have a NO sleep issue starting at 12am daily. We thank the lord for putting the caregiver in our path. We will see a Dr. who specializes in accupuncture to see if that can help the stonosis???? Eastern Medicine I say bring it on. We live at the Drug Store. They know me by name in such a short time.

Do you ever wonder why your parents sit at the Dr's Office for 3 hours when they go? I will fill you in on my next visit.