Why You Should Always Go With Your Parent to the Doctor (Before a Simple Test Becomes a Disaster)
Top 5 Reasons to Accompany Your Elder to the Doctor’s Office
Clarity on what the test is for
Directions on how to actually take the test
Catching what your elder might “edit” out of the doctor’s instructions
Being the backup memory when the medical jargon flies
Preventing injuries caused by… creative interpretation
Mom was sent home with a weeklong urine collection test (dehydration? low potassium? Who Knows…The Musical!). The doctor’s office handed her a giant jug with a handle—like a gas canister, but see-through and for urine—then sent her on her way. No instructions. Nothing.
Scene: The Laundry Closet Showdown
Me: Mom, I put your extra-large, economy-sized laundry detergent on the floor in the closet. That way you just lift it a little, pour, done.
Mom: No, no. It looks terrible on the floor. I’ll put it up here—on the highest shelf where it fits nicely.
Me: Mom, it weighs like 40 pounds. Gravity is not your friend.
Mom: Nonsense. I’ll just reach up, tip it a little—
[Sound effect: CRASH!]
Me: …and drop it on your foot.
Mom: Well. At least it’s out of sight.
Picture it. You have zero hand grip strength (which, let’s face it, is even possible in your 50’s), but you’re in your 70’s, sitting on the toilet, balancing and maneuvering the massive gas canister directly under your pee stream, and hoping for the best. Every day. For 7 days. As it fills with liquid (who knew how heavy urine could be?)
You might be thinking—as I did—why didn’t any doctor or well-meaning nurse or medical student or, hell, even the barista at the in-house café, tell Mom the obvious? Like in cooking: crack the egg into a little bowl first, then pour it into the larger mixing bowl. Same thing with pee. Small receptacle first, then dump it into the giant jug.
The truth is: you don’t need a medical degree to predict the outcome: one wrecked hand (of six opinions and one surgery later), another trip to the doctor, and a reminder that sometimes the most important test is whether you’re in the room to ask the right questions in the first place.
dōteworthy
12 Mistakes You Make at the Doctor’s Office (and how to fix them) AARP https://www.aarp.org/health/healthy-living/doctors-office-mistakes/
Talking with Your Doctor https://www.nih.gov/institutes-nih/nih-office-director/office-communications-public-liaison/clear-communication/talking-your-doctor-or-health-care-provider NIH
National Institute on Aging https://www.nia.nih.gov/health/medical-care-and-appointments/how-prepare-doctors-appointment
dōte note
Ever send your elder to the doctor solo only to find out later they had no idea what the test instructions meant? Share your stories—we’d love to hear how you handled the WTF moment.