End-of-Life Issues Your Parent Needs to Talk About

By Robert D. Liken CPC, CTS, President

September 16, 2016

Senior Care in Monroeville PA

As a family caregiver for your elderly parent, you know that there are issues that you will have to face at some point in your care journey that might not be the most enjoyable of topics or something Senior-Care-in-Monroeville-PAthat you even want to think about. This, however, does not mean that you should simply avoid these topics or pretend that they are not important to your parent’s care as they age in place. Confronting these issues honestly and openly enables your parent to talk through them so that they can feel confident that their wishes, thoughts, and opinions are known, and they can move forward with peace of mind. As their family caregiver this can help you to feel better knowing that when the time comes to make challenging decisions you will know what your parent thinks and feels so that you can make the decisions that your parent would want you to make.
 
Some of the end-of-life issues you parent needs to talk with you about as you move forward in your care journey include:

  • Future of their care. No matter what your parent might be dealing with, take some time to talk to your elderly loved one about the possibility of senior care. There is a common misconception that a senior home care services provider is only a benefit for seniors who are very old or who are suffering from extensive needs. This is not the case. Senior care can be extremely beneficial to seniors of all kinds, offering support, assistance, and encouragement that can make a tremendous difference in their health, wellbeing, and quality of their future as they age in place.
  • Artificial resuscitation. Your parent might encounter a medical situation that could put them in the situation of possibly needing resuscitation. While you might think it is not even a decision that needs consideration, the truth is that many elderly adults do not desire resuscitation. They believe if their body has decided to stop, they want to respect that. Discuss this with your parent and determine not only how they feel about the possibility of being resuscitated, but also if there are any variations in the situations that may change this. For example, they might not want to be resuscitated if they are at home and have a heart attack or succumb to cancer, but they would want to if they were involved in a car accident. Discuss posting notice of these wishes in their home to properly instruct emergency responders.
  • Life support. Likewise, your parent could be in a situation when you will have to make the difficult decision of whether to put or keep them on life support to sustain them living when their body is not functioning on its own. This can be an extremely challenging decision to make when you do not know how your parent would feel about this situation. Ask your parent if they would want to be kept on life support, how long they are comfortable with that, and if there are any circumstances that might change their perception. This will help you to feel more at ease about these situations if they arise.

 

If you or an aging loved one are considering senior care in Monroeville, PA, please contact the friendly staff at Liken Home Care.  Call (412) 693-6820 or (855) 856-0551