Healthcare Whisperer

I am continuing my audio blog, moving away from my experiences with my journey with my mother to patient and healthcare stories.  It is my hope that these stories will be informative and instructive.  When you hear them, you may think, is she making this up.  No, they are real.

This show is two healthcare professionals talking about their expreinces of death and dying both professionally and personally.  Mary Elizabeth Parker,  PT,PhD, NCS, PCS, medical liaison for U.R. Our Hope, has dedicated her life to those with undiagnosed and rare illness. In her work, she has been a witness to the death and dying of children and been a compassionate comfort to their loved ones.  Her courage and committment to these families is truely inspirational.  She will share her experiences and insights about these intimate moments of the dying journey with families. With all our combined experience with death and dying, nothing prepared either of us for the loss of our mother.  We will also discuss  how our professional work with death and dying was little help at such a personal loss.  We will talk about how it changed us and enhanced our ability to understand how death and dying impacts those left behind. Don't miss this show!

Surviving death is about the days after all the details are done, memorials and estate issues, and the grief begins to take hold.  I am going to talk about what it is like to suddenly find yourself alone with your loss, the emptiness and the sadness.  A conversation as difficult in our society as dying.  How I learned and witnessed my own rawness and vulnerability.  A journey to understand how one survives the death of a loved one.

This is the continuing story of my mother's passing.  In this episode I will talk about what happens after the death, the details like dealing with planning two memorials, social security, finances, wills and final bills.  I don't think a person is prepared for what has to be dealt with.  I want to provide some insight as to what it is like during this time, staying focused and getting the job done when you are feeling sad and vulnerable.

This episode is about my experience of  my mother's final days.  How hospice care was critical, how the assisted living staff dealt with the process and the details after death.  It is a time of joy and sadness, grief and celebration.  It will be about the impact of the year of care giving and the road to recovery when all is said and done.  The information, I hope will help others deal with the process of caring for a loved one at the end of life.

This episode continues the journey of dealing with my mother's dying and the facility indifference.  I will be talking about my insights into being a caregiver.  I know many others have had similar experiences, the loneliness one can feel and how family and friend support make the difference.

This is a continuation of my journey with my Mother.  This episode I will talk about what has happened lately and the constant worry one has as a caregiver.  I never know when the next problem will arise or what it may entail. 

The endless drama continues.  I have learned to never let my guard down and expect the unexpected.  I am going to talk about DNR and specialized Physician signed specific orders on what you want at the end of life.  A DNR may not be enough and even then, nobody may read it.

The world of assisted living and hospice is not easy.  Walking the road with my mother as she is dying is painful and inspiring.  Some days I feel very lucky to have this time and other times my head is spinning. 

Just as Meghan Trainor says in her song"It's all about the bass", I say with assisted living and hospice, "it's all about the regs".  I have kept my mother safe by knowing what her rights are and what the regulations are.  This blog will be about how I faired knowing certain regulations.

What a crazy ride this journey is.  Minefields galore.  My mother continues to decline and I can hardly keep up.  This blog is about working with hospice and getting the assisted living to respond.  Lessons learned that I hope will help you

I continue talks about caring for my Mom in assisted living and hospice.  My hope is my experience will help others.  I have just returned to New Mexico and witnessing the changes that have occurred in the last two weeks

This is the continuation of the journey through assisted living and hospice.  My goal is that by listening, you will gain insight into the process.  This blog speaks to some key factors  caregivers needs to think about when selecting an assisted living and hospice, what to do when things don't seem to be going your way and keeping your loved one safe.

Here is another installment about life with Mom in assisted living and hospice.  There bever seems to be a dull moment.  She continues to decline and I continue to try to keep her comfortable and safe.

This is a continuation of my experiences dealing with assisted living and hospice.  It is my experience of dealing with with all the issues and the constant rebalancing.  My hope is the information from my experience will be of help to others.  This blog will be about hopsice and talking to my Mom about dying

My blog continues about what it is like to be the caregiver for a parent in assisted living, nursing home and hospice.  In this episode, I will speak about Hopsice and my Mother's choices about her death.  I will talk about the prospect of her death and how the Hopsice services have helped.

This is day three of my blog and the saga continues with the facility, hopsice and care manager.  What  a life being a caregiver!  I hope to offer some tips on the best way to get what is needed for a loved one in this situation.  Even though I have advocated for clients in similar situations, it doesn't make it easy.  I think I am just faster at knowing what the problem is and the possible solution.

This is the second audio blog post about my journey with Mom, her dying and dealing with the Assisted Living/Nursing Home staff.  Today, I will talk about the Ombudsman program and how it can help solve problemsand deal with issues in the residents favor.

This blog is in addition to my radio show.  It is my journey with my Mother since she had he stoke one yeear ago.  It is about my experience dealing with the world of geriatric care, assisted living, nursing home, hospice and my mother's personal care aides.  I hope it will provide insight and valuable information that can help someone else on this journey

  This show is the amazing story of Jade Grace, who grew up with a mother who lived in an iron lung.  The iron lung was a tank respirator used to help people artificially breathe used often during the polio epedemic.  It's use was usually only for several weeks until the lungs regained strength.  For some like Jade's mother, it was for a lifetime.  She lived 30 years on the iron lung.  Jade's story is about a child's experience of interacting and loving a mother who was lived in an iron lung.  Many on iron lungs were confined to institutions but Jade's father had the resources to keep her at home with all the necessary care.  She even summered on Catalina Island with the family.  Jade's story is a part of medical history that everyone should hear about.  Her stories are capitvating and heartwarming. Be sure to tune.