Every Senior Needs an Advocate

My grandmother wasn't well and was sent to the hospital by her care facility. After a week in the hospital and myriad of tests, the Attending Physician concluded that there was nothing they could do for her, that her condition was a result of her age (90 years old) and that she'd be discharged back to her care facility.

When I visited my grandmother and learned what was about to happen, I demanded to speak to the Attending Physician and fortunately was given the opportunity. I explained that the individual lying in the bed, with little energy and almost non-responsive "was not my grandmother". I shared that to this point, my grandmother was an active individual, mobile and very mentally alert (often moreso than me!). I asked that she stay in the hospital and undergo further tests to determine the root cause. I worried about what would happen if she was returned to her care facility in the state she was in -- perhaps she would have been left bedridden to live out the rest of her life. Fortunately, the Attending Physician agreed to keep her in the hospital and run a few more tests. The result was that they discovered she had a staple in her abdomen from a previous surgery that had become infected. They also discovered she had a lump in her breast. Upon removing the staple, treating the infection, and removing the lump, my grandmother bounced back to her usual self within days. She even joked that maybe now she'd outlive her mom who had passed away at 106. My gran was discharged to her care facility and lived to the great age of 96!

I'm grateful that the Attending Physician was at least open-minded enough to consider my comments but at the same time shudder at the thought of what might have happened had I not been able to be my grandmother's advocate and her voice.

I hope and pray that there's an advocate for me when I get old.