Seems Silly? One of Those Tiny Practical Tips For Taking Care of Elderly Parents!

Thank you for sharing...

We may earn money or products from the companies mentioned in this post, which is at no additional cost to you. :)

I have a bit of a funny story to share with you. It happened to me – and it's never happened before. BUT I suspect it's happened to others and I'm sharing it as much as one of those useful tips for caring for ourselves and our elderly parents, as to give you all a fun Saturday chuckle.

As you may recall, last month I had an "Energizer" sinus infection. It kept going – and going – and going… I was almost done with the first round of antibiotics and was better, but the cough just wouldn't quit, so I finally got MYSELF going – back to the doctor. i was out of town, so I had to go to an urgent care clinic I'd visited before. Nice people, nice brand-new offices, and not too long of a wait.

After about 45 minutes, the sweet nurses' assistant took me back to one of the rooms and took all my vital signs. Then she left the room, saying the doctor should be there in just a few minutes. I sat on one of those fun little beds you find in these rooms and kept myself busy using my ever-handy iPhone.

All of a sudden, total darkness – except for that iPhone. My first thought was, "The power has gone out! What's happening!" My second thought was a bit more pragmatic. I immediately started waving my hands and hopped off the bed. Sure enough, the second thought was correct. The lights used one of those motion sensors. If there was no movement in the room for a certain amount of time, they would automatically turn off. Apparently, pushing buttons on a cell phone wasn't enough movement!

I had to chuckle at the situation, and my immediate "the world is ending" thought. But then I thought about my senior mom and how she might have felt, if she'd been in there alone. She certainly couldn't have hopped off the bed easily like me! And she gets very worried very easy, as so many of our elderly parents do. Hmmm, guess there's something else to keep an eye out for when we are taking our senior parents to doctor appointments. If I have to leave her in a room in the future, I'll definitely remind her to wave her her arms every so often! Yes, we may look a bit silly, but better safe than sorry and much easier than having to carry a bird around us to move around! And if you are at the doctor's with kids or grandkids, might be fun to have them wave periodically too. 🙂