And Now the End is Near — Caring for Aging Parents Isn’t for the Faint of Heart
There comes a time when you switch roles with your parents. The role reversal sneaks up on you — one day Mom and Dad are attending your high school graduation, and the next you’re scheduling their doctors’ appointments.
When my parents reached their 70s, my brother and I agreed that an “adult” should go along with them to their doctor’s appointments to avoid the selective memory that’s common with seniors. I scheduled a lot of appointments, followed up on test results, and took phone calls from many doctors.
I could be watching a ballgame in my apartment, or sitting down to dinner with friends when the call would come in. “Frank, I just got your father’s bloodwork, and I saw something I didn’t like. I need you to take him to the emergency room so they could run some tests at the hospital.”
Seeing your parents looking gaunt and pale sitting up in a hospital bed is never easy. No one looks healthy in one of those hospital gowns. Worse than that is camping out and waiting for the surgeon’s update on the latest procedure.
Time catches up to all of us. In my…
