I just had one of the most stressful weekends ever!

A former pet sitting client (their cat died but we still keep in touch a little bit) called me at 9pm Friday to ask me to take her to the ER. She had been in A fib for about 3 weeks and was really starting to have trouble breathing and was very weak/easily tired.

She was very reluctant to go b/c of her husband. He has moderate to advanced dementia and cannot be left alone, but she had no one to watch him. She had no companies that she used to help her care for him, has no friends in Maryland, and all of her family lives in California.

I ended up convincing her to go by ambulance so that she would get seen right away and so that she could get some treatment started in the ambo. I drove her husband to the hospital & tried to wait with her until she got a room, but he was getting upset that she would not get up out of bed and that he couldn't just go home.

Their son finally decided to fly out here, but he did not get in until 10:30 Sunday night. I had to watch the husband from Friday night until Monday morning (I stayed Monday night to try to make the transition in care takers easier for both of them). I am a pet care professional; I do not know what to do with 2-leggers!

The son had no idea what to do, who to call, where important things are, etc etc. Luckily his mom is alert enough to help him, but what if she was in a coma or something?

I am so grateful for my mom and her planning. She has everything I need to know in a notebook. Who to call, what to tell them and what not to tell them, what to hide before calling anyone, where her insurance policies are, all her account information, where to find the will...EVERYthing. We go over it all about once a year. I am sure one day I will have to deal with an emergency (or worse) with her. I know that day will be so much easier with everything being in place.

The lady had some set backs (blood clots, organs very stressed) but according to her doctor, seems to have "taken a step back from the edge of the cliff". She is still in CCU and will likely need to be in the hospital about a month. There is no plan in place for the care of the husband. Right now the son is doing it himself (though i have offered to sit with him for a couple hours if he needs a break). She almost died, would have if she waited any longer to get in, and still maybe could. That's a lot of weight on the son's shoulders. 

They should have moved back to California (they have talked about it for years). At the very least, she should have interviewed care companies and found one that she felt comfortable enough using if he really needed them. What if I was out of town this past weekend?

Anyway, my point is that if you have adult children, please set up an emergency plan and talk about it from time to time, especially if there is anyoe in the house hold with cognitive issues!

Thanks for listening. I was glad to help out a sort of friend but I was even more glad to get back home!!!