Request InformationHave you ever been lost? Turned around? Not sure where you are and how you got there? But, the one thing you do know is you just want to go home? I’ve been, and it’s an awful feeling.
So, have you ever had this experience? You become ill (of course, it’s 1:35 a.m. in the morning), you call emergency 911, and all these strangers show up, start poking you and asking you 20,000 questions.
Next thing you know, they put you on a gurney, put you in the back of an ambulance and off you go to the closest hospital emergency room. If you thought you were overwhelmed with all those strangers in your home….well, now you’re in one of the most confusing, loud, brightly lit places on the planet.
More questions from more strangers, many who have masks over their nose and mouth so without your eyeglasses, you can’t even begin to figure out who is who and understand what they’re saying to you and asking you. Then, after many hours, you end up in a hospital room, having been pushed down hallways, into elevators, down more hallways and then through a doorway. And, now you know the real fun will begin – more questions, more faces covered in masks, same clothes as the ones in the emergency room.
Ok, so maybe you haven’t had this experience yourself but maybe you have gone through this kind of experience with a loved one – maybe a mom or dad, child or sibling, or a friend. You certainly can relate to the feelings of having a mind-blowing, confusing, worrisome and stress-filled evening, when all you want is to go home and have everything be “normal.”
Now put you and your loved one on opposites sides of the country, let’s say 3,500 miles apart. Can we say stress?
How do you survive this necessary ‘medical’ intervention when a loved one becomes ill and needs hospital care, with as much preparation as possible? Ok, I know that just sounded crazy –I mean, how can you “prepare” for an emergency trip to the hospital? It seems impossible.
While none of us want this to happen to us or the ones we love, it happens many times over each day across the U.S. And, more often than not, our loved one is having to face the experience on their own or with an aging spouse in tow who isn’t handling it very well.
It’s so frustrating for a geographically distant family member to be able to support their loved one(s) going through this, not only due to the distance, but also the way our health care system works these days with all those privacy laws. Wouldn’t it be nice just to find someone who would talk to you and tell you what’s going on with your mom or dad, without the rigmarole of the system?
Stay tuned for Finding Home, Part 2!
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Helping Hearts Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to helping people in need throughout our communities, hopes you’ll use us as a sounding board. We’re committed to making a difference, one person at a time, so please give us a call today at 916.368.7200.
