Comments on: Becoming Another Persons Advocate: Second Post

By: patricia

patricia — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 05:48:06 +0000

Jenn Z
You are quite welcome…it came from experience

By: Jenn Z

Jenn Z — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 03:29:49 +0000

Patricia, this is wonderful! Thanks for sharing!!

By: Patricia

Patricia — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 02:11:52 +0000

Thank you for the good suggestions mj – I think we folks in the trenches need all the information that we can get. I did not need a Medical POA just the POA for my Mother, but we did have to have a plan in case of her death, and letters from her Attorney reference her will and intentions – another form telling what kind of care she wanted, ” a directive” – signed by her physician. When her physician had an injury, all the other physicians took that to mean my Mother could not have pain relief surgery after she suffered compression fractures of the spine – wow did that take a lot of appointments and phone calls to get a Kyphoplasty for pain relief and then it was a great relief. I think there are too many of these experiences to even comprehend.

By: mj

mj — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 04:11:49 +0000

Amen to the above. I used to advocate for others in this way, as well as for family members. Slight correction: the advocate needs a MEDICAL Power of Attorney, not a general POA. Big difference. And, don’t keep these papers locked up in your safety deposit box. You need to take them with you EVERY time you go to the hospital. Sometimes you have to be quite assertive about their use to the medical folks. Also, I encourage people to NEVER not have someone with their family member in the hospital — 24/7. Someone needs to be with them at all times to be their advocate and safety monitor. The stories I could tell…….