When You Have To Call 911 For Your Parents

I have called 911 many times in the past 10 years for my parents because of their ongoing health issues with the effects of aging. My parents were afraid to be the ones to say “Call 911”, their hopes were it was not too serious.

My parents recently passed away. My mom passed away two and half years ago and my dad just ten months ago. Reflecting on what happened, what I learned is why I decided to write this article. Being their caregiver, I was the one to talk to the doctors, went to the follow up with the treatment plans, and helping my parents understand their new limitations.

As I am still grieving the loss of my parents, I want to share my experiences as an adult child caregiver. I want to help others who may go through similar situations.

If you’re in that situation, here are some things to consider after calling 911. Because there is nothing worse than being unprepared for when the EMTs arrive. It’s a crazy experience that can make you feel scattered and running around with your hands in the air. At times after dealing with the EMTS, I felt like an egg batter just went off in my head.

Steps To Consider

Medication

1. Gather the medication bottles and write down the list. When the EMTs arrive, you can hand them the list instead of verbally listing each medication. This takes long and you should be involved listening to the examination of your parent. Believe me, you need to hear what is going on with your parent’s exam.

2. Confirm with your parents (if they are alert) that all the medication has been taken and when was it last taken.

3. The medication list should have, name of the medicine, dose, frequency, and time of day.

4. A good idea is to photograph the medication bottle with your phone with you, or photograph the piece of paper. When you get to the hospital, ER doctors will be questioning what kind of medication they are. It’s important to know what medicine they’re taking and why.

Comfort

1. If you need to call the EMT's in the middle of the night, and your parent is in their pjs, see if you could grab some thick socks to put them on their feet. The experience of being transported, can cause shaking, from fear and cold. The cold will seep into their bones, and it’s always good to have them have cozy socks on for the ride.

2. Have a bag to put some things in for your elderly parents such as iPhone, iPad, book or whatever will make the time go fast. Especially if the hospital admits your parent, you can leave them with their stuff. Being in the ER can be long hours.

3. Hopefully, an iPhone with a charger is a long corded charger because finding an electrical outlet close to the hospital bed is such a challenge.

4. Make sure that their wallet with identification and insurance card in with them.

5. Slippers or shoes for your parent would be good too, so they have them to walk out with.

6. Bring disinfectant hand wipes.

For You

1. iPhone with charger.

2. Disinfectant wipes.

3. Bring some snacks; some nuts and maybe Dark Chocolate is always good.

4. Bottles of water for yourself and your parents (if allowed to drink)

5. An extra small blanket for your parents or yourself; being in the ER can create anxiety and stress. Sometimes, it could be cold, so it’s good to have a little blanket to throw on your parent or over your shoulders.

Communication

1. If it’s during business hours, call your parent’s doctor. It's important to let the doctor know that you’re in the ER with your parents. That way, they can start reaching out to the ER doctors and coordinate better care for your parents.

2. Let other family members know what is happening; there are two ways to do this.

A. Send a text message to a group thread so you don’t have to send multiple text messages.

B. Send a video message to a group thread. The pros of this are they can see you and get a better vibe of how serious or not serious this is. Sometimes, when you send a regular text message, people can’t understand the tone of what is going on.

Conclusion

The most important lesson I’ve learned from my decade long experience in and out of emergency rooms with my parents is there comes a point when advocating for your elderly parent becomes very essential. Remember, they supported you through your childhood, they wiped your tears, changed your diaper and your biggest cheerleaders.

Now, it’s your turn to be there for them when they need you the most. It’s a time filled with fear and anxiety. There is a mix of emotions that includes frustration because you wish they had taken better care of themselves and apprehension about what lies ahead.

This journey is incredibly demanding and transformative, leaving a lasting impact. I hope some of my suggestions can assist you in navigating these challenging situations.

This was previously published on Medium.