He Knows What We Need

Meeting all of our loved one’s growing needs can be quite overwhelming and disheartening. Sometimes it’s hard to even know what their needs are. Sometimes they don’t know themselves.

My mother’s doctor classified Mom as an extreme fall risk, which meant taking extra precautions. With Parkinson’s draining her strength and ability to walk, it was proving especially difficult to get Mom in and out of the car. Still, we had to do it for important things like doctor appointments.

One morning my sister-in-law Missy and I wheeled Mom out to the car. Missy draped a flat bed sheet across the front passenger seat. She helped Mom stand, then turn to sit down. Missy quickly slid into the backseat and pulled here and there on the sheet until Mom was in a comfortable position. Getting her out was somewhat easier. Just spin her around, help her stand and then sit her back in her wheelchair. I think all three of us dreaded getting Mom back into the car after her doctor appointment when we knew she would be tired from the outing.

As we were pulling out of the driveway, the doctor called. “If you’ll pull up to our back door, I’ll come out to the car and examine your mother there,” she said. “Call me when you get here.” That idea worked so well that all of Mom’s future appointments were by the back door.