Note from Donna: When the Parent Becomes the Child
More family emergencies kept me hopping last week. My 73-year old mom was rushed to the ER because she was having great difficulty in breathing. About 8 years ago she was diagnosed with COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease), which is the new medical term for emphysema. In her case, emphysema came from 40 or so years of cigarette smoking. Fortunately, she gave up smoking when she was diagnosed, and until recently, her COPD seemed to have plateaued. While she will never get any better, she wasn’t getting any worse.
Apparently, she’s arrived at a point in which the COPD has worsened, and she’ll probably plateau again for awhile until the new medications lose their effectiveness. In the meantime, I’m making more trips to her home (150 mile round trip for me) to help her with regular chores that she can no longer do, like going to the grocery store. During my trip this past weekend, we started gathering paperwork to apply for her admission to a low-income senior citizen facility here locally. If she agrees to move from her home of more than 30 years (that’s the biggest hurdle here <g>) and her application is approved, she’ll be about 2 miles from my house, which will be a great relief for me.
This whole experience has been one of growth for us both. For me, it means taking on more responsibility in taking care of my mom and facing the very real scenario that the end of her life is near. Last night, I dreamed she had died, and I hadn’t had a dream like that for many years. Being an "orphan" is still a great fear of mine. For Mom, she’s starting to face her own mortality and beginning to get her affairs in order, like making arrangements for her funeral, instead of making us (my siblings and I) deal with it after her death, as had initially been her plan.
Mom says that she plans to live until 95, and I sincerely hope she pulls it off..;)
To your online success!
Donna Gunter, Online Business Resource Queen (TM) and Online Business Coach/Manager
About the Author Donna Gunter
Best-selling author Donna Gunter works with successful business owners who are experts in their fields and established in their industry and are seeking a way to stand out from their competitors. Using her Ideal Clients on Autopilot System©, she helps them determine the exact strategies to generate more qualified leads and better-paying clients with automated systems. This proven system makes all their marketing easier and more effective and they find themselves positioned as the only choice for their clients.
