Without Regrets
“Wonderful, well written, easy to read book that deals with a topic too often ignored or feared. Positive clear thinking and it makes so much sense!”
Becoming a Caregiver
Although Helen Emmott comes from a medical family – she is a registered nurse and her husband, David, a doctor – they were surprisingly unprepared for the questions and challenges that lay ahead when they became caregivers for their aging mothers.
- What exactly does the role of caregiver entail?
- How do you choose a healthcare decision maker?
- How do you make medical decisions that honor a loved one’s wishes?
- As a caregiver, is it possible to make everyone happy?
What Helen learned from caring for her mother and mother-in-law, from friends and their parents, and from her patients was the importance of conversation, sorting out family dynamics and caregiving roles, choosing a decision maker who can navigate the maze of an often daunting healthcare system, and taking care of oneself along the way.
In Without Regrets, she shares both heartfelt stories and lessons learned that help anyone needing to guide loved ones through frailty and illness and ultimately death.
Six Key Lessons from Without Regrets:
- There is an undeniable relationship between preparedness and a sense of no regrets.
- The choice of a proxy decision maker is one that only your parents can make.
- Resolve to have clarifying conversations early and often.
- Consider your parents’ values and wishes and what you hope to accomplish on their behalf.
- Three important steps in caregiving: • Identify and accept yourself as caregiver as early as possible. • Know that being a caregiver is not the same as being a loving son or daughter. • Build a supportive network!
- Healthcare for aging persons is only as good as it is appropriate.