Posted by jane d on January 29, 2002, at 12:38:38
In reply to Re: Visiting elderly parents » trouble, posted by fi on January 29, 2002, at 12:02:03
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/healthtopics.html
If you haven't already seen this site it's worth a look. It's my favorite starting point for anything even remotely medical. It's a US government site and the links are to US organizations so specific assistance programs mentioned won't help you but the general information might.
One thing that you might like to look into is the possibility that your parents are depressed. In all my reading on depression I keep coming across the statement that it is often misdiagnosed in the old. The other thing I keep seeing is warnings to rule out medication side effects. Since I've been made dull and forgetful by drugs myself at times I now believe this is a real possibility.
My only advice based on first hand experience so far is to communicate things, such as your plans to visit, in writing instead of by telephone so that your mother can look at the letter if she forgets details. And, if possible, get both your parents to explicitly tell you what they want done in the way of medical care for themselves and each other if they aren't able to make the decision themselves. I recently found myself having to make decisions for a critically ill parent when I had absolutely no idea what he would have wanted. He survived to object to some of those decisions so now I at least know what he wants for next time.
Jane
poster:jane d
thread:17297
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20020125/msgs/17462.html