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My Parents

By Lorraine
Posted on

I had the conversation with my parent.

By profession, I am a Social Worker. I wear multiple hats, including being a daughter to 2 wonderful parents who both believed in the importance of having their wishes known when they could no longer participate in the decision making. My dad passed away in 2016 and my mom died 4 months later. After months of trying to figure out what was wrong with my dad, he entered the hospital and so began the physical and emotional roller coaster of decision making with the team of staff and family and my dad. As he quickly declined, having his health care wishes in writing was a valuable tool in our discussions. These were some of the hardest decisions I have ever had to make as I knew his life was at stake. But it was because I had his wishes in writing, that I could be the best daughter/advocate that I could be for him. He entered the hospital and 2 weeks later died a “good death” on a hospice program. Just months before his passing I volunteered my time in my community to show the video “Being Mortal” to address the importance of talking about your wishes. I was able to apply these principles to my own personal life and to see that they helped our family so much with the loss of his passing. As I watch so many families struggle with these conversations, I cannot say enough about the importance of them.

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